Nobel Prize in Medicine for Julius and Patapoutian for their findings on touch

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine is for David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries on temperature and touch receptors, reported the Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.The Nobel Prize in Medicine is the first of the round of these prestigious awards, which will be followed by announcements in successive days of those of Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace and finally Economics, next Monday. Patapoutian used pressure-sensitive cells to discover a novel class of sensors that respond to mechanical stimuli in the skin and internal organs. The discoveries of both “have allowed us to understand how heat, cold, mechanical force can initiate nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world around us,” according to the Karolinska Institute.Basically, their work, as explained by those responsible for this “important and profound discovery”, explain how heat, cold and touch can trigger responses in the nervous system. American Julius used capsaicin, a spicy compound in chilli peppers that cause a burning sensation to identify a sensor in the skin’s heat-responding nerve endings. Patapoutian, a Lebanese-American, used pressure-sensitive cells to discover a new class of sensors that respond to mechanical stimuli in the skin and internal organs. The knowledge provided by the research of the two laureates is used for the development of treatments in a wide variety of ailments, such as chronic pain.   

Original source in Spanish