Nobel Prize in Medicine; Discovery of PIEZO1, Beats Covid-19 Vaccinations
by Naba Batool
SHARES
Of how the human body reacts towards heat and cold.
This discovery is so essential for the development of pain-relieving medicines that it has beaten the development of covid inoculations and has won a Nobel for scientists.
These scientists have successfully discovered the receptors proteins which are responsible for the transfer of signals to the brain. Whether the burning sensation from a hot stove or the cool feeling of menthol, according to these researchers these proteins transfer the sensation of heat and cold to the nervous system. This can revolutionize the way we are currently treating pain.
According to the researcher of this ground breaking study, Adrem Patapoutian touch is one of the most ignored subjects in biology. One of the most important senses is the sense of touch. Primarily because of touch a human is able to feel a wide range of sensations. During his 2018 speech, he said that.
“We rely on our five senses to make sense of our environment ... Your sense of touch is amazing. You can sense an indentation about 1,000 times thinner than a human hair.”
It is an amazing gift of nature and yet our information on this subject is highly limited. The Nobel committee further added that.
“Our understanding of how the nervous system senses and interprets our environment still contained a fundamental unsolved question: How are temperature and mechanical stimuli converted into electrical impulses in the nervous system?”
This research is highly path-breaking because it explains the working of the most sensitive senses that living beings have. During these tough times of covid-19 humans have missed one thing and that is the sense of touch. It is because of this sensation that we are able to comprehend the beauty of nature that surrounds us.
The protein that has been found by these scientists is an ion channel. An ion channel is a pathway that is buried inside the cell’s membrane. This passageway allows the flow of charged atoms to exit or enter the cell. When a person feels something heated, this channel opens up. This allows the charged calcium ions into the cells. This addition of calcium sends electrical signals to the brain and that is how you pull your hand away.
Patapoutian discovered a protein cell that is named after the Greek word for the pressure that is PIEZO1.
