Data derived from the Science Watch/Hot Papers database and the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age.

The hunt for endogenous or synthetic molecules that can stimulate growth hormone production has always been appealing. Finding the right molecule or molecules that control appetite, for example, could have significant financial returns. About two years ago, two research groups, whose work has reached Hot Paper status, identified the elusive ligand for an endogenous G-protein-coupled receptor that stimulates the release of growth hormone. One of the groups, headed by Kenji Kangawa, director of the Department of Biochemistry at the National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute in Osaka, and professor at the Translational Research Center at Japan's Kyoto University, was interested in novel peptides and discovered the ligand, naming it ghrelin.1 A team...

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