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Kenneth Callow
Robert Kenneth Callow, FRS (15 February 1901 – 1983) was a British biochemist. He worked at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR, Medical Research Council) in Hampstead and Mill Hill, where his work on steroids included contributions to the isolation and characterisation of vitamin D, and the synthesis of cortisone from naturally occurring steroids. After he retired from the NIMR in 1966 he worked on insect pheromones at Rothamsted Experimental Station (now Rothamsted Research) until 1971. Early life and education Kenneth Callow was born 15 February 1901 in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. His father, Cecil Callow (1865–1912), was an electrical engineer. Kenneth's mother, Kate Peverell (1868–1955), became the head of the Peverell household in Gateshead in 1885 after her parents died, when she was 17 years old with two younger sisters. After 1891 she moved to London. In 1896 she married Cecil Callow. Kenneth attended City of London School (1911– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goring-on-Thames
Goring-on-Thames (or Goring) is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about south of Wallingford and northwest of Reading. It had a population of 3,187 in the 2011 census, put at 3,335 in 2019. Goring & Streatley railway station is on the main Oxford–London line. Most land is farmland, with woodland on the Goring Gap outcrop of the Chiltern Hills. Its riverside plain encloses the residential area, including a high street with shops, pubs and restaurants. Nearby are the village churches – one dedicated to St Thomas Becket has a nave built within 50 years of the saint's death, in the early 13th century, along with a later bell tower. Goring faces the smaller Streatley across the Thames. The two are linked by Goring and Streatley Bridge. Geography Goring is on the left bank of the River Thames in the Goring Gap between the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills, about north-west of Reading and south of Oxford. Across the river is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sterol
Sterol is an organic compound with formula , whose molecule is derived from that of gonane by replacement of a hydrogen atom in position 3 by a hydroxyl group. It is therefore an alcohol of gonane. More generally, any compounds that contain the gonane structure, additional functional groups, and/or modified ring systems derived from gonane are called steroids. Therefore, sterols are a subgroup of the steroids. They occur naturally in most eukaryotes, including plants, animals, and fungi, and can also be produced by some bacteria (however likely with different functions). The most familiar type of animal sterol is cholesterol, which is vital to cell membrane structure, and functions as a precursor to fat-soluble vitamins and steroid hormones. While technically alcohols, sterols are classified by biochemists as lipids ( fats in the broader sense of the term). Types Sterols of plants are called '' phytosterols'' and sterols of animals are called ''zoosterols''. The most impo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cushing's Syndrome
Cushing's syndrome is a collection of signs and symptoms due to prolonged exposure to glucocorticoids such as cortisol. Signs and symptoms may include high blood pressure, abdominal obesity but with thin arms and legs, reddish stretch marks, a round red face, a fat lump between the shoulders, weak muscles, weak bones, acne, and fragile skin that heals poorly. Women may have more hair and irregular menstruation. Occasionally there may be changes in mood, headaches, and a chronic feeling of tiredness. Cushing's syndrome is caused by either excessive cortisol-like medication, such as prednisone, or a tumor that either produces or results in the production of excessive cortisol by the adrenal glands. Cases due to a pituitary adenoma are known as Cushing's disease, which is the second most common cause of Cushing's syndrome after medication. A number of other tumors, often referred to as ectopic due to their placement outside the pituitary, may also cause Cushing's. Some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gonads
A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. The male gonad, the testicle, produces sperm in the form of spermatozoa. The female gonad, the ovary, produces egg cells. Both of these gametes are haploid cells. Some hermaphroditic animals have a type of gonad called an ovotestis. Evolution It is hard to find a common origin for gonads, but gonads most likely evolved independently several times. Regulation The gonads are controlled by luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, produced and secreted by gonadotropes or gonadotrophins in the anterior pituitary gland. This secretion is regulated by gonadotropin-releasing hormone produced in the hypothalamus. Development Gonads start developing as a common primordium (an organ in the earliest stage of development), in the form of genital ridges, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adrenal Cortex
The adrenal cortex is the outer region and also the largest part of an adrenal gland. It is divided into three separate zones: zona glomerulosa, zona fasciculata and zona reticularis. Each zone is responsible for producing specific hormones. It is also a secondary site of androgen synthesis. – "Adrenal Gland" Layers The adrenal cortex comprises three main zones, or layers that are regulated by distinct hormones as noted below. This ''anatomic zonation'' can be appreciated at the microscopic level, where each zone can be recognized and distinguished from one another based on structural and anatomic characteristics. ;Zona glomerulosa :The outermost layer, the zona glomerulosa is the main site for the production of aldosterone, a mineralocorticoid. The synthesis and secretion of aldosterone are mainly regulated by the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. The zona glomerulosa cells express a specific enzyme aldosterone synthase (also known as CYP11B2). Aldosterone is lar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Androgen
An androgen (from Greek ''andr-'', the stem of the word meaning "man") is any natural or synthetic steroid hormone that regulates the development and maintenance of male characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors. This includes the embryological development of the primary male sex organs, and the development of male secondary sex characteristics at puberty. Androgens are synthesized in the testes, the ovaries, and the adrenal glands. Androgens increase in both males and females during puberty. The major androgen in males is testosterone. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and androstenedione are of equal importance in male development. DHT ''in utero'' causes differentiation of the penis, scrotum and prostate. In adulthood, DHT contributes to balding, prostate growth, and sebaceous gland activity. Although androgens are commonly thought of only as male sex hormones, females also have them, but at lower levels: they function in libido and sexual arousal. Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heart Poisons
Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Their beneficial medical uses are as treatments for congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias; however, their relative toxicity prevents them from being widely used. Most commonly found as secondary metabolites in several plants such as foxglove plants, these compounds nevertheless have a diverse range of biochemical effects regarding cardiac cell function and have also been suggested for use in cancer treatment. Classification General structure The general structure of a cardiac glycoside consists of a steroid molecule attached to a sugar (glycoside) and an R group. The steroid nucleus consists of four fused rings to which other functional groups such as methyl, hydroxyl, and aldehyde groups can be attached to influence the overall molecule's biological activity. Cardiac glyco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proceedings Of The Royal Society A
''Proceedings of the Royal Society'' is the main research journal of the Royal Society. The journal began in 1831 and was split into two series in 1905: * Series A: for papers in physical sciences and mathematics. * Series B: for papers in life sciences. Many landmark scientific discoveries are published in the Proceedings, making it one of the most historically significant science journals. The journal contains several articles written by the most celebrated names in science, such as Paul Dirac, Werner Heisenberg, Ernest Rutherford, Erwin Schrödinger, William Lawrence Bragg, Lord Kelvin, J.J. Thomson, James Clerk Maxwell, Dorothy Hodgkin and Stephen Hawking. In 2004, the Royal Society began ''The Journal of the Royal Society Interface'' for papers at the interface of physical sciences and life sciences. History The journal began in 1831 as a compilation of abstracts of papers in the ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'', the older Royal Society publicati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank George Young
Sir Frank George Young FRS (25 March 1908 – 20 September 1988) was a distinguished biochemist, noted for his work on diabetes, and the first Master of Darwin College, Cambridge. Early life Young was born in London and educated at Alleyn's School, Dulwich and University College, London where he graduated in chemistry and physics in 1929. After graduating, he remained at UCL to do postgraduate research in the field of biochemistry. Career Academic career As a research fellow Young studied diabetes at the University of Aberdeen and the University of Toronto. At the age of 34 he was awarded his first chair when appointed in 1942 as the Professor of Biochemistry at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, University of London. Thereafter his advancement was rapid, becoming professor of biochemistry at UCL in 1945 and then, in 1949, being elected as the third Sir William Dunn Professor of Biochemistry at Cambridge University, a post he was to hold for the ensuing 26 years. His Cambridge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steroid
A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and as signaling molecules. Hundreds of steroids are found in plants, animals and fungi. All steroids are manufactured in cells from the sterols lanosterol ( opisthokonts) or cycloartenol (plants). Lanosterol and cycloartenol are derived from the cyclization of the triterpene squalene. The steroid core structure is typically composed of seventeen carbon atoms, bonded in four " fused" rings: three six-member cyclohexane rings (rings A, B and C in the first illustration) and one five-member cyclopentane ring (the D ring). Steroids vary by the functional groups attached to this four-ring core and by the oxidation state of the rings. Sterols are forms of steroids with a hydroxy group at position three and a skeleton derived from cho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sex Hormones
Sex hormones, also known as sex steroids, gonadocorticoids and gonadal steroids, are steroid hormones that interact with vertebrate steroid hormone receptors. The sex hormones include the androgens, estrogens, and progestogens. Their effects are mediated by slow genomic mechanisms through nuclear receptors as well as by fast nongenomic mechanisms through membrane-associated receptors and signaling cascades. The polypeptide hormones luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone – each associated with the gonadotropin axis – are usually not regarded as sex hormones, although they play major sex-related roles. Production Natural sex hormones are made by the gonads (ovaries or testes), by adrenal glands, or by conversion from other sex steroids in other tissue such as liver or fat. Image:Steroidogenesis.svg Image:Biosinthesis of steroid hormones (simplified version).jpg Image:Biosinthesis of steroid hormones (extended version).jpg Imag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hilda Bruce
Hilda Margaret Bruce (5 April 1903 – 2 November 1974) was a British zoologist, best known for her discovery of the Bruce effect, a pheromonal behaviour observed in many rodent species. Her work on the control of fertility earned her the Oliver Bird Medal. Biography Hilda Bruce was born on 5 April 1903. She was educated at St Leonards School. In 1923, she began her tertiary studies at King's College for Women, where she received a BSc in Household and Social Science, and another in Physiology. In 1928, Bruce joined the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) at Mount Vernon, Hampstead. Her early research was dedicated towards the understanding of Vitamin D; she also jointly published the first article describing the breeding characteristics of the golden hamster. In 1933, Bruce was employed by the Pharmaceutical Society, where she continued her research on Vitamin D. In 1941, she was appointed to set up the Cod Liver Oil (Poultry) Standardisation Laboratory. In 1944, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
