Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (''Solanaceae'') which constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots, and accumulating in the leaves.
E-cigarettes-; used regularly by more than 10% of U.S. teens and more than 3% of adults-; were once pitched as a healthy alternative to tobacco cigarettes.
The first proof of 12-hour cycles of gene activity in the human brain is presented by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the United States.
Florida State University College of Medicine researchers have linked aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in nearly 5,000 diet foods and drinks, to anxiety-like behavior in mice.
In a work of systematic biology that advances the field, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have identified 16 distinct cell populations in a complex area of the midbrain called the ventral tegmental area, or VTA.
New research co-led by a University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine professor is shedding light on some of the mysterious dynamics that define the interplay between nerves and muscle.
In 2019, the WHO positioned chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) third in the global ranking of causes of death.
Some studies have shown that nicotine, an addictive substance in electronic cigarettes, increases the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disorders.
Scientists with the Desert Research Institute Organic Analytical Laboratory in Reno, Nev., led by Andrey Khlystov, Ph.D., have been awarded a $1.5M grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the formation of dangerous compounds by electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes).
Researchers have compared vape e-liquid samples and their aerosols to combustible cigarette smoke using Toxys’ ToxTracker range of in-vitro assays.
Even people who consider themselves to be casual cigarette smokers may be addicted, according to current diagnostic criteria. Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine and Duke University found that many light smokers -- those who smoke one to four cigarettes per day or fewer -- meet the criteria for nicotine addiction and should therefore be considered for treatment.
Cocaine addiction is a chronic disorder with a high rate of relapse for which no effective treatment is currently available.
A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, has discovered that strigolactones, a class of novel plant hormones, mediate the fine-tuning of the production plant defensive substances in the stem of plants of the wild tobacco species Nicotiana attenuata.
University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have discovered that a majority of back-pain patients they tested who were taking opioid painkillers produced anti-opioid antibodies.
A revolutionary new way to give vaccines through microneedle skin patches is being tested at Swansea University, thanks to £200,000 of EU funding announced by the Welsh Government.
Plants produce the hormone jasmonic acid as a defense response when challenged. This is how they ensure that their predators no longer like the taste of their leaves.
Researchers report that smoking increases the gene expression of ACE2, the protein that binds SARS-CoV-2, which may promote COVID-19 infection.