Mark Zylka, PhD, director of the UNC Neuroscience Center, wrote an article for the New England Journal of Medicine on this year’s two winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
“Through sensing temperature and mechanical forces, humans and other animals are able to avoid environmental extremes and maintain their physiologic status within an optimal range. This year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for identifying molecular receptors for temperature and force sensation — groundbreaking research that provided the first insights into how animals sense hot and cold temperatures, mechanical force, and pungent chemicals in spices that humans have enjoyed for millennia.”
Read the rest of Zylka’s article in the “Clinical Implications for Basic Research” section of the New England Journal of Medicine.