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novapsycheMorphine Apparently in Your Head
Several persistent researchers finally have proof for a theory they have held for more than a decade, despite dissent from the larger scientific community: Morphine occurs naturally in the human brain.
Most scientists have been skeptical of the claim, saying previously studied samples were likely contaminated with morphine molecules. But a paper published in the Sept. 21 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences seems to put the question to rest.
Meinhart Zenk and his colleagues at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany found that human cells grown in a dish synthesized morphine.
"Without doubt, human cells can produce the alkaloid morphine," Zenk wrote in the paper. "The studies presented here serve as a platform for the exploration of the function of 'endogenous morphine' in the neurosciences and immunosciences."
Several persistent researchers finally have proof for a theory they have held for more than a decade, despite dissent from the larger scientific community: Morphine occurs naturally in the human brain.
Most scientists have been skeptical of the claim, saying previously studied samples were likely contaminated with morphine molecules. But a paper published in the Sept. 21 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences seems to put the question to rest.
Meinhart Zenk and his colleagues at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany found that human cells grown in a dish synthesized morphine.
"Without doubt, human cells can produce the alkaloid morphine," Zenk wrote in the paper. "The studies presented here serve as a platform for the exploration of the function of 'endogenous morphine' in the neurosciences and immunosciences."