Discovery
Endothelium-derived relaxing factor was originally the name given to several proposed factors causing vasodilation. The major endothelial derived relaxing factor was later discovered to be nitric oxide (NO).
The discovery of the biological functions of nitric oxide in the 1980s came as a complete surprise and caused quite a stir. Nitric oxide was named "Molecule of the Year" in 1992 by the journal Science, a Nitric Oxide Society was founded, and a scientific journal devoted entirely to nitric oxide was established. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1998 was awarded to Ferid Murad, Robert F. Furchgott, and Louis Ignarro for the discovery of the signalling properties of nitric oxide. Salvador Moncada also identified EDRF as NO molecule, but did not share the Nobel Prize primarily due to the Nobel policy of honoring only three discoverers. It is estimated that yearly approximately 3,000 scientific articles are published on the biological roles of nitric oxide.
Read more about this topic: Biological Functions Of Nitric Oxide
Famous quotes containing the word discovery:
“One of the laudable by-products of the Freudian quackery is the discovery that lying, in most cases, is involuntary and inevitable—that the liar can no more avoid it than he can avoid blinking his eyes when a light flashes or jumping when a bomb goes off behind him.”
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