Clear science, from cell to signal.
Touch a hot pan and your hand is moving before you have consciously registered any pain. We trace that signal from fingertip to spinal cord and back, and ask what happens when a disease such as multiple sclerosis interferes with the same pathway.
Alcohol is one of the few drugs Britons can buy with their shopping, yet its actions at the synapse remain widely misunderstood. From GABA enhancement to glutamate rebound, we follow ethanol's molecular conversation — and explain why the morning after feels so punishing.
A twisted ankle on the Pennine Way sets off a molecular emergency broadcast within minutes. We trace the inflammatory signals from damaged tissue to arriving immune cell — and ask what happens when the alarm refuses to switch off.
The gut microbiome produces chemical signals that reach the brain — but separating the rigorous science from the wellness-industry marketing requires a pharmacologist's eye. Here is what the evidence on short-chain fatty acids, tryptophan and the vagus nerve genuinely supports.
'Scientists hail breakthrough' is a phrase UK readers meet weekly, but signalling research rarely moves at headline speed. This guide offers a practical checklist for students and writers to distinguish robust cell biology from overcooked press releases.
In 1971, Earl Sutherland received the Nobel Prize for revealing how hormones whisper to cells through a tiny internal courier, cyclic AMP. This article traces the detective work behind the second messenger concept and explains why the discovery still shapes British pharmacology half a century on.
As temperatures fall across Britain, the body mounts a coordinated hormonal response to defend its core temperature. This article traces the signalling circuitry of thermoregulation, from thyroid hormones and adrenaline to the fever response, and examines what happens when the system fails.
Light is the body's most powerful external signal, governing vision, sleep timing and even seasonal mood. This article follows a photon's journey through phototransduction and the circadian system, and considers the pharmacological implications for treating sleep disorders and seasonal affective disorder.
Viewing the body's chemical messengers through the lens of a national postal service, this explainer follows a signal from its point of origin to its final destination. Ideal preparation for A-level and undergraduate examinations, with examples drawn directly from UK exam specifications.
Britain's laboratories and museums hold a remarkable share of the discoveries that founded modern signalling science. This tour through five landmark achievements — and the places you can still visit today — traces how cAMP, kinases and more changed medicine, and where UK-funded research is heading next.
Cancer is often described as uncontrolled growth, but at the molecular level it is a failure of communication. This article traces how mutations in receptors such as EGFR and downstream proteins like RAS convert a carefully regulated dialogue into permanent, growth-driving static.
Beta blockers, SSRIs, statins and other everyday prescriptions all work by adjusting the same signalling pathways students meet in the textbook. This accessible guide connects the molecules in your local pharmacy to the receptors and cascades they quietly manage.