Joseph Brand
Encyclopedia
Dr. Joseph G. Brand is a biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...

 currently at Monell Chemical Senses Center
Monell Chemical Senses Center
The Monell Chemical Senses Center is a non-profit independent scientific institute located at the University City Science Center research campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

. In 1985, Dr. Brand discovered that the substance amiloride
Amiloride
Amiloride is a potassium-sparing diuretic, first approved for use in 1967 , used in the management of hypertension and congestive heart failure. Amiloride was also tested as treatment of cystic fibrosis, but it was revealed inefficient in vivo due to it's short time of action, therefore...

 is an inhibitor of sodium
Sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...

 when present in the epithelia of rats. Subsequently in 2005, Dr. Brand and Dr. Xia Li
Xia Li
Xia Li is a scientist based at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. She is known for her work on feline sensory studies, including groundbreaking research as to why cats cannot taste sweets. She, along with her collaborator Dr...

 discovered that cats did not have a functioning sweet taste receptor, because it was made obsolete by evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...

.

See also

  • Amiloride
    Amiloride
    Amiloride is a potassium-sparing diuretic, first approved for use in 1967 , used in the management of hypertension and congestive heart failure. Amiloride was also tested as treatment of cystic fibrosis, but it was revealed inefficient in vivo due to it's short time of action, therefore...

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