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"NICOTINE ADDICTION depends on the amount of nicotine delivered and the way in which it is delivered, which can either enhance or reduce its potential for abuse: the faster the delivery, rate of absorption, and attainment of high concentrations of nicotine, the greater is the potential for addiction." Pharmacokinetics are key. https://lnkd.in/dmhcut5 View in LinkedIn

DIFFERENT SCALES. "Long time scales are needed for signals to diffuse over long distances. A small molecule will take 10 years to diffuse a distance of 1 m. It is not yet clear whether microbes in nature exchange signals over long distances.” The challenge of molecular signals. https://lnkd.in/dGPmiAc View in LinkedIn

ADOLESCENTS ARE RIPE FOR ADDICTION. "Adolescence is a unique period in response to psychostimulants ... other constituents in tobacco and tobacco smoke may also contribute to the effects of nicotine and may, consequently, affect smoking behaviors." http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v32/n9/full/1301327a.html View in LinkedIn

NEW PARADIGM. “For many years bacteria were considered primarily as autonomous unicellular organisms with little capacity for collective behaviour. However, we now appreciate that bacterial cells are in fact, highly communicative. The generic term ‘quorum sensing’ has been adopted to describe the bacterial cell-to-cell communication mechanisms which co-ordinate gene expression usually, but not always, when the population has reached a high cell density." "”https://lnkd.in/dkHXcWW http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/362/1483/1119 View in LinkedIn

YOUNG BRAINS MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO NICOTINE. "We have shown that juveniles have unique behavioral and endocrine responses to acute administration of nicotine as compared with adults. Acetaldehyde influences many but not all of these responses to nicotine." http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v32/n9/full/1301327a.html View in LinkedIn

“QUORUM SENSING is a system of stimulus and response correlated to population density. Many species of bacteria use quorum sensing to coordinate gene expression according to the density of their local population. In similar fashion, some social insects use quorum sensing to determine where to nest.” http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quorum_sensing View in LinkedIn

TARGETING YOUTH by tobacco companies is both to ensure a continual base for the market, but also due to their increased biochemical susceptibility to nicotine addiction, at an age when they are already experimenting with other risky behaviors in order to differentiate themselves. A very vulnerable sector. View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT IN NATURE: a pause in our ongoing review of tobacco issues. In this Fragment, we look at an extraordinary phenomenon called quorum sensing, starting with bacteria. This phenomenon has broken old paradigms about how bacteria communicate among themselves, and how other species can tap into this language. View in LinkedIn

NACRE AS HISTORICAL TEMPERATURE GUAGE. By analysis of the nacre on deep sea shells it is possible to reconstruct the historical temperatures of the oceans. Brilliant work. https://lnkd.in/d-BBVMX View in LinkedIn

UK SEEKS REVENUE NEUTRALITY. "The tax on cigarettes should be increased as the burden on the taxpayer is too high, even taking into account revenues from duty ... Policy Exchange called for a five per cent rise in next week's budget - a rise of 23p for a pack of 20 - and further rises over the next five years to ensure smoking became 'revenue neutral'." https://lnkd.in/d2B7dpT View in LinkedIn