[aldo_14]

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn10514

Natural-born painkiller found in human saliva
Saliva from humans has yielded a natural painkiller up to six times more powerful than morphine, researchers say.

The substance, dubbed opiorphin, may spawn a new generation of natural painkillers that relieve pain as well as morphine but without the addictive and psychological side effects of the traditional drug.

When the researchers injected a pain-inducing chemical into rats’ paws, 1 gram of opiorphin per kilogram of body weight achieved the same painkilling effect as 3 grams of morphine.

The substance was so successful at blocking pain that, in a test involving a platform of upended pins, the rats needed six times as much morphine as opiorphin to render them oblivious to the pain of standing on the needle points.
Anti-depressive angle

“Its pain-suppressive effect is like that of morphine,” says Catherine Rougeot at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, who led the research. “But we have to test its side effects as it is not a pure painkiller,” she says. “It may also be an anti-depressive molecule.”

Rougeot and colleagues discovered that opiorphin works in nerve cells of the spine by stopping the usual destruction of natural pain-killing opiates there, called enkephalins.

Opiorphin is such a simple molecule that it should be possible to synthesise it and produce large quantities without having to isolate it from saliva, Rougeot explains. Alternatively, it might be possible to find drugs which trigger patients’ bodies to produce more of the molecule themselves.

I was sure this was already discovered, though.

[Colonol Dekker]

In todays Metro too, Whats it called, Opiorphin?  Yep this was mentioned a few eeks back too in general conversation  Kudos to Spittle..

[Taristin]

And people thought me weird for licking small wounds on my hands, or arm... >..>;;

[Colonol Dekker]

Taristin, your title both confounds and scares me..........

[Hippo]

Opiorphin... Opium plus morphine?


and you're reading WAY too far into Raa's title.

[Janos]

Is this news?

[Flipside]

According to the New Scientist, yes, but I've known this, quite literally, for decades....odd.

[achtung]

Well, I'll start licking my wounds now.  Just like Cats, Dogs, always have.

[Goober5000]

Wow, kissing a boo-boo really does make it all better.

[Hippo]

spitting at it moreso!

[Stealth]

perhaps that's why dogs lick their wounds when they get hurt?

[KappaWing]

Yeah, thats been known for a long time in animal saliva.

BTW why did Raa change his name to Tarstin?

[achtung]

Yeah, thats been known for a long time in animal saliva.

BTW why did Raa change his name to Tarstin?

The admins changed his name to Taristin.

[KappaWing]

Yes but why?

[Flipside]

Because the upgraded Forums wouldn't accept the apostrophe in his old Raa Tor'h name so he chose to have a new one instead.

[Goober5000]

Actually, it was because he had gotten his name changed to Taristin everywhere else. The apostrophe problem happened about a year before that.

[KappaWing]

Ok so he got it changed eveywhere else. Why did he do that? 

[Taristin]

Because I am a believer that names should change to reflect changes in people.
Im no longer a Raa... just as Raa was no longer Raa Tor'h, and that was no longer *shudder* snipes.
People change... and a new name, to me, is a bit of a start over. Despite this incarnation being a bit bitter and disallusioned.

[KappaWing]

Bitter and disillusioned? What's been troubling you?

[Turey]

Despite this incarnation being a bit bitter and disallusioned.

Really? I couldn't tell. 

Anyways, I've always licked my wounds and will continue to do so.