Creating Opioid Receptors that Respond to Light (AUDIO)
Caption
Drugs can inhibit pain by interacting with opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, but those receptors aren't found only in those places, so the drugs can cause problems elsewhere. Pain-killing drugs also can be addictive. But now, Washington University researchers have created receptors that behave like opioid receptors but don't require drugs to activate them. Instead, they are activated with light. Jim Dryden reports.
Credit
Washington University BioMed Radio
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