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Article: NO use: nitric oxide. (use of nitric oxide in the body)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 26, 1992
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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UNLIKE its near namesake nitrous oxide, nitric oxide is no cause for laughter: it produces lung-searing smogs and acid rain. But biochemists have started to find that nitric oxide does apparently useful things in people's bodies. It helps to fight infections and cancers, control blood pressure, convey impulses between nerve cells and from nerves to muscles, and even facilitate male potency.
As the list of useful things has grown, so has the researchers' surprise. This is not because nitric oxide can be poisonous - as Paracelsus observed, the difference between medicine and poison is merely a matter of dosage - but because it is such a simple substance. Hormones and ...