Current Affairs - Miscellaneous - Discussion

Researchers at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai have identified a new function for Serotonin, a monoamine neurotransmitter. The serotonin may help treat neurological diseases.The results of the study were published in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)".A research paper jointly led by Vidita A. Vaidya and UllasKolthur-Seetharam from TIFR, in collaboration with Ashok Vaidya from KHS (Kasturba Health Society), had found that stress buster Serotonin is involved in the generation of new mitochondria in neurons, increased cellular respiration and fuel (ATP- adenosine triphosphate) in the cell.The recent discovery establishes that serotonin signaling could be used to prevent mitochondrial abnormalities and neuronal loss.