Hot, Hot, Hot: Peppers and spiders reach same pain receptor

[Guest guest]

Hi,

 

Thought you might find this Science News article interesting.

 

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20061111/fob5.asp

 

" Christen Brownlee

 

The burn of hot peppers and the searing pain of a spider bite may have

a common cause. New research suggests that molecules in hot peppers

and in a certain spider's venom target the same receptor on nerve cells.

 

Several years ago, scientists identified a channel on neurons that's

opened by capsaicin, the molecule responsible for peppers' burn.

Follow-up research showed that this channel is a member of a family of

cell-surface receptors that sense both chemicals and temperature. When

these channels are activated, ions flood into nerve cells and cause

them to fire.

.... "

 

Gary