X-Message-Number: 13299 From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: about vaccinating against NMDA receptors Date: Sat, 26 Feb 100 00:05:41 +1100 (EST) Hi everyone! This oral vaccine (I havent got the issue of SCIENCE that it was published in, but I will) against brain damage targets a molecule which plays a double role. In case you havent been following research on how memory works, NMDA plays a major role in the early process of forming new memories. In most neurons using glutamate as their transmission chemical, activation of NMDA receptors causes Long Term Potentiation (LTP for short) which then causes activation of other genes to create new synapses between neurons. Every step in this path has been experimentally verified, though to be fair, we'd like to know that it happens with all neurons involved with memory (apparently some neurons in special regions acquire memory without activating NMDA receptors). It's therefore VERY important that this vaccine not work permanently. Otherwise it will only give us the choice between never being able to remember another new thing or of being immune to most brain damage. Not a nice choice, yes? Surely we want something much better. If you've been reading PERIASTRON you would have read about this work. Best and long long life, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=13299