Note-Making 3 – Silva’s Saving Grace
“Saliva is not one of the popular bodily fluids. It
lacks the drama of blood, the sincerity of sweat, and the emotional appeal of
tears”.
But stand back and watch saliva enter its golden era.
Scientists now argue that saliva is an elaborate substance that defends us
against many hostile organisms. As a diagnostic tool, it appears to have
breathtaking potential.
Mandel started his pioneering research on saliva in
the late 1950s. Back then, most of what people knew about saliva was that it
moistens food and contains enzymes that begin to digest it. Now
scientists have charted many more components of saliva. Some proteins
inhibit the transmission of the AIDS virus; others are critical in allowing
friendly bacteria to adhere to teeth and gums, preventing severe infections.
The National Institutes of Health, meanwhile, is
exploring the many ways saliva can be searched for warning signs of
disease. The basic idea is, why draw blood when a patient can simply spit
in a cup? Scientists can study saliva for stress-causing hormones and
indicators associated with heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and osteoporosis. And
since saliva contains DNA from cheek cells that are constantly being shed,
analysts can potentially solve whodunits by examining saliva remnants on licked
envelopes or stamps. Next up, says Lawrence Tabak, head of the National
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research is “a miniature laboratory on a
chip small enough to be inserted in the mouth.” Maybe it’ll be mounted on a
tooth. It’ll monitor your saliva and transmit a radio signal about
your health.
Saliva does a
lot of work for other animals too. In some species of bats, saliva can
neutralize poisons on the skins of frogs. Ticks, leeches, vampire
bats, mosquitoes – and any of the other bloodsuckers known to science as hematophages – use
saliva as an anticoagulant as they feed on blood. Experiments show that
when certain salivary glands are removed from mice, their wounds don’t heal as
quickly after they lick them. This is apparently because a key component
of their saliva is nerve growth factor, which stimulates nerves to close a
wound.
And, of
course, saliva is a communication tool. We’re not talking about the human
tendency to connote contempt through flamboyant spitting. Saliva does all these
interesting things even though it’s 99 per cent water. There’s no reason to
thing it’s gross. For gosh sakes, you swallow almost a quart a day.
Your Notes
Functions of proteins found in
saliva
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Possible discoveries made out
of saliva
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Miniature laboratory
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Uses of saliva in animals
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