The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was jointly awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian "for their discoveries on temperature receptors".
“Our ability to perceive heat, cold and touch is fundamental for survival - explain from the Swedish academy - and at the basis of our interaction with the world around us. In our daily life we take these sensations for granted, but how are nerve impulses initiated in order to perceive temperature and pressure? This question was answered by this year's Nobel laureates ”.
David Julius used capsaicin, a compound of peppers and chillies that induces a burning sensation, to locate a sensor in the skin's nerve endings that responds to heat.
Ardem Patapoutian used pressure-sensitive cells to discover a new class of sensors that respond to mechanical stimuli in the skin and internal organs.
These discoveries have sparked intense research activities leading to a rapid increase in understanding of how the nervous system perceives heat, cold and mechanical stimuli.
"The 2021 Nobel laureates graduates in physiology or medicine - they conclude from Stockholm - have identified important missing links in our understanding of the complex interaction between our senses and the environment".
(Unioneonline / vl)
