Conopeptides are a diverse group of recently evolved venom peptides used for prey capture
and/or defense. Each species of cone snails produces in excess of 1000 conopeptides, with …

Cigarette smoke, which serves as a nicotine delivery vehicle in humans, produces profound
changes in physiology. Experimental studies suggest that nicotine has analgesic properties …

Background Microbial inhabitants of soils are important to ecosystem and planetary
functions, yet there are large gaps in our knowledge of their diversity and ecology. The …

Opioids are first-line drugs for moderate to severe acute pain and cancer pain. However,
these medications are associated with severe side effects, and whether they are efficacious …

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are actively being investigated as therapeutic
targets for the treatment of pain and inflammation, but despite more than 30 years of …

Marine snails of the genus Conus are a large family of predatory gastropods with an
unparalleled molecular diversity of pharmacologically active compounds in their venom …

Cysteine-rich peptides from the venom of cone snails (Conus) target a wide variety of
different ion channels. One family of conopeptides, the α-conotoxins, specifically target …

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are widely expressed throughout the central
nervous system and participate in a variety of physiological functions. Recent advances …

The α9 and α10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits assemble to form the
α9α10 nAChR subtype. This receptor is believed to mediate cholinergic synaptic …

We identified a previously unidentified conotoxin gene from Conus generalis whose
precursor signal sequence has high similarity to the O1-gene conotoxin superfamily. The …