Endocrine Abstracts

Although scientists have been seeking the mechanism of action of hormones for over 100 years, which is often before the identity and structures of many hormones were known, we are still unable to say definitively in molecular or structural terms how any hormone exerts a given physiological action. This failure is largely due to the fact that most investigations are technology driven and not hypothesis based. At the same time, two important features of hormones and their action...

Light of sufficient intensity and suitable spectral composition is the main factor which maintains a 24 h period in human circadian rhythms. At the British Antarctic Survey base of Halley (75 °S) the sun does not rise for 3 months in winter and does not set for 3 months in summer. In this isolated environment most subjects remain synchronised to the 24 h day however the melatonin rhythm and sleep are delayed in winter compared to summer. Summer timing can be restored with...

Of the many neuropeptide hormones that are secreted by the placenta our attention focussed some years ago on the tachykinin, neurokinin B (NKB) as the blood concentration of this decapeptide was found to be raised in pre-eclampsia and nearly all of the life threatening symptoms seen in this disease appeared to be through progressive activation of the three neurokinin receptors. Interestingly only a limited number of antisera raised against the synthetic 10mer (the form found i...

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The picture showing a markedly virilised central figure with an infant at the breast and a shadowy figure in the background was painted in 1631 by Jose Ribera, a Spaniard living in Naples. It was commissioned by Ribera’s patron, the Duke of Alcela. The painting is of a real named person. The provenance of the painting is well known and through the Duke’s family inheritance it returned to Spain and is to be seen in the Muse Fondacion Duque de Lerma in Toledo. It can a...

In this talk, which will include part my submission for a PhD in Film Studies in the University of London, I explore some of the reasons for the widespread and enduring popularity of Disney’s first feature-length animated films (Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942)). Despite their old fashioned style, the first two have recently been rereleased – in 70th anniversary editions in Blu-Ray for...