Animals and Medicines

Abstract

In the discussion of the impact of gene technology, synthetic peptides, studies on protein structure, and new immunological tools (such as monoclonal antibodies) in the area of animals and medicines, we identified an underlying theme which can be described as follows. At present new tools are rapidly being applied to biological systems which have been extensively defined at the biochemical level (e.g., blood homeostasis, many peptide hormones). The future trends can, however, already be discerned in which the isolation of new factors tells us more about the original biological system (e.g., discovery of new peptide hormones on ACTH-precursors; biological modifiers in the blood pressure regulation cascade; interferon gene family members; dissection of antigenic sites of pathogens). The further rapid advancement of this field (which is to be expected) will result from intensive interdisciplinary research in which the main emphasis will rest at the level of basic research on biological systems (complex systems) and protein structure.