An opioid receptor mutation that makes you feel the pain

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Sci is at Neurotic Physiology today, talking about a recent study looking at a single nucleotide polymorphism in the mu-opioid receptor. It's a simple, single mutation, that has some pretty big effects, especially in pain sensitivity. Though it does make me wonder, why does every picture of back pain have a shirtless person with a glowing back? I guess you can't have back pain with your shirt on. Head over and check it out.

Scicurious has a PhD in Physiology from a Southern institution. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from another respected Southern institution. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher at a celebrated institution that is very fancy and somewhere else. Her professional interests are in neurophysiology and psychiatric disorders. She recently obtained her PhD and is pursuing her love of science and writing at the same time. She often blogs in the third person. For more information about Scicurious and to view her recent award and activities, please see her CV ( http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/a-scicurious-cv/)

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