>From the current issue of Nature.

http://www.nature.com/nature/links/020307/020307-1.html
  Neurobiology: Cold and menthol receptor

  Natural products that mimic sensations of hot or cold are key to
  understanding how the nervous system detects temperature. Capsaicin
  (from chili peppers) evokes burning pain by activating an ion
  channel that also responds to heat. This week, cloning of a menthol
  receptor explains the icy-cool sensation of mint: the receptor is
  also activated by cold. Similarities between capsaicin and menthol
  receptors suggest that sensory nerve endings use a common molecular
  mechanism to detect hot and cold.


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