Scientists Identify How the Body Senses Cold

Vicissidude writes with a link to a story on the Nature website, discussing the discovery of a protein that may enable us to sense cold temperatures. It's been pinned down in mice, and the same protein may perform a similar function in humans. Mice rely on a single protein, called TRPM8, to sense both cold temperatures and menthol, the compound that gives mints their cool sensation. The sensor also controls the pain-relieving effect of cool temperatures, but does not seem to play an important role in the response to painfully cold temperatures below 10 C. TRPM8 is in the same family as the protein that detects heat and capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers hot. These proteins lie in the cell membranes of select neurons, and form channels that open and close in response to external signals."

Comments

That's so COOL!

[Tatisimo]

Literally cool, that is!

Fascinating

[bheer]

The ability of simple chemicals to bond and form progressively more complex sensors and computation units shows just how primitive our top-down-engineered silicon computers are. Makes you wonder what our computers and I/O devices will be like when we get to the point where we really grok biochemistry.

Re:Fascinating

[tknd]

Makes you wonder what our computers and I/O devices will be like when we get to the point where we really grok biochemistry.

Yeah, just imagine sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!

Re:Fascinating

[camperdave]

Haven't you heard? Humans were intelligently designed in a single day!

Um... I think you mean manufactured in a single day. Who knows how many coffee breaks and napkin doodles the design process actually took?

Re:Fascinating

[poopdeville]

It's a long story. Back in 1996, in the early days of Slashdot, people wore onions on their belt, as was the style at the time. In any event, it was at the start of Clinton's second term in office. Things were looking up. It was still a pre-9/11 world, and things were different then, as was the style at the time. Google had only recently started buying up San Francisco real estate. Michael Jordan stopped playing baseball. IBM stock was up. CowboyNeal posted a story about sharks, as was the style at the time. CmdrTaco did not approve and said so in a comment, saying he didn't know what Cowboy Neal thinking. Paraphrasing, he said: "Unless these sharks have lasers attached to their heads, this story doesn't belong here."

Re:Fascinating

[tsa]

And the topic gives us a nice insight in the mind of our [insert appropriate overlord here]. (S)He/it must have thought: "What do I hate? I know: cold! I shiver even thinking of it. And menthol! Yuch, that must be the foulest substance on the planet. Let's give the sentient being in development a sensor that can detect both cold and menthol then!"

Re:Fascinating

[Walt Dismal]

Few people know that before Dr Evil developed sharks with frikking laser beams, he engineered a cost-effective prototype using gerbils. However, this had two flaws. First, people collapsed laughing on the floor. Second, the ASPCA and Greenpeace organized a protest around his island. The blockade raised the cost of gerbils to an astronomical One Million Dollars per rodent, so the pragmatic doctor searched for an eco-friendly and less-expensive substitute. One day it came to him as he was feeding enemy agents into the sea: fish, and duct tape. One roll of tape later, he had his solution, and the world was changed forever.

No problem with sensing cold

[flyingfsck]

I don't have any problem sensing cold temperatures. When your eyelashes and nostrils freeze shut when you blink or breathe, it is fairly obvious...

Re:No problem with sensing cold

[Anonymous Coward]

Obviously not zombies. But every vampire that I've staked through the heart had a surprised look on his or her face. And yes, I'm sure they were vampires. Who else would wear a cape in the summer?

Re:No problem with sensing cold

[Nosferatu Alucard]

So you're that bastard who shanked me in July... That crap hurts, even for a vampire. Can I at least get an apology?

Re:No problem with sensing cold

[Thrip]

Who else would wear a cape in the summer? Someone deficient in TRPM8, apparently.

errr ... was that too close to on-topic?

Re:No problem with sensing cold

[pipingguy]

We find your thoughts interesting and we'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Regards,

Frogs

PS We do NOT taste like chicken.

Just a rough guess ...

[Rudisaurus]

Scientists Identify How the Body Senses Cold

By shivering?

Re:Painfully cold?

[Anonymous Coward]

Strangely, those temperatures you mention are both below 10 C...

Re:Use of this research

[Threni]

> I'm trying to find a possible practical use of this research but can't think of any. Maybe in finding the vaccine for common cold?

Torture...uh, I mean the War On Terror(TM).

Painfully Cold?

[Slashdot Parent]

painfully cold temperatures below 10 C.

As someone who went to school in Wisconsin, please allow me to provide you with some free education.

50 F is not "painfully cold". In fact, I'm not sure I would describe 50 degrees as cold at all. Hell, 50 degrees won't even make me start to consider putting my shirt back on at Badger games.

The coldest temperature that I've ever been outside in is -60 F. That is air temperature. Who cares about the wind chill at that temp? At that temp, you leave your car running in the parking lot while you're shopping, you don't have a square inch of your skin covered by fewer than 3 layers, and you sure as shit better put your shirt back on while cheering on your Wisconsin Badgers.

I misread this as "How the body senses Gold"

[Anonymous Coward]

I and my World of Warcraft character got very excited.

Re:Use of this research

[johnny cashed]

Nerves in teeth other than pressure sensors. Dumbest idea ever.

Best argument I've heard today against intelligent design.

Scientists Identify How the Body Senses Cold

[Anonymous Coward]

....Nipples?

They're like pop-up thermometers in reverse. Very handy.

mouse revenge

[bl8n8r]

"injected their mice with a painful compound, put them on a cold plate and measured the amount of time the mice spent flinching their hind legs in response to the pain. "

You know, if mice ever undergo a genetic mutation causing them to become a dominant species over us, we are sooooooooo fucked.

Re:mouse revenge

[zippthorne]

I think we made up for it by sticking an electrode in a rat's pleasure center and giving him control over the button.