Nobel Prize 2021 Medicine: American David Julius Aldem Patapoutian wins Sweden to show how we react to heat

STOCKHOLM-Two researchers won the Nobel Prize in Medicine on Monday. This is a discovery that discovers how the human body perceives temperature and tactile sensation, which can lead to new treatments for pain and heart disease.

Americans David Julius and Aldem Patapoutian have identified receptors on the skin that respond to heat and pressure. Their work focuses on the area of ​​somatosensory, which examines the ability of specialized organs such as eyes, ears and skin to see, hear and feel.

“This really unlocks one of nature’s secrets,” said Nobel Committee Secretary-General Thomas Pearlman in announcing the winner. “It is a very important and profound discovery because it is really important for our survival.”

Julius, who was born in New York and currently works at the University of California, San Francisco, has identified a neural sensor that allows the skin to respond to heat using capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili peppers, according to the committee.

Patapoutian, who was born in Lebanon and currently works at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, said he has discovered a separate pressure-sensitive sensor inside cells that responds to mechanical stimuli.

“In our daily lives we take these sensations (temperature and tactile sensations) for granted, but how are nerve impulses initiated so that we can perceive temperature and pressure?” I wrote in the announcement. “This issue was resolved by this year’s Nobel Laureate.”

Before Monday’s announcement, Pearlman said he managed to get both winners who shared the prestigious Kavli Neuroscience Award last year.

“I (…) only had a few minutes to talk to them, but they were incredibly happy,” he said. “And as far as I know, they may have been very surprised and a little shocked.”

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Oscarmarin, director of the MRC Neurodevelopmental Disorders Center at King’s College, said that Julius, 65, and Patapoutian’s choices are about how our bodies perceive the world around them before they are discovered. He emphasized how much you know and how much he still has to learn. London.

“We understood the physiology of the senses, but what we did not understand was how we felt the difference in temperature and pressure,” said Marin. “It is essential to know how our body perceives these changes, to know these molecules allows us to target them. It’s like finding a lock. And now I know the exact key needed to unlock it. ”

According to Marin, the discovery opens up “the whole field of pharmacology”, and researchers are working on drugs that target the receptors they have already identified.

Marin predicted that new treatments for pain are likely to come first, but if researchers can understand how to relieve pressure on blood vessels and other organs, how the body can detect pressure changes. Knowing can ultimately lead to heart disease medicine.

Last year’s prize was awarded to three researchers who discovered the hepatitis C virus, which destroys the liver. This is a milestone that will lead to the treatment of a deadly disease and is a test to prevent the tragedy from spreading to blood banks.

The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and SEK 10 million (over $ 1.14 million). The prize is a will submitted by the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, the creator of the prize, who died in 1895.

The prize is awarded for the first time this year. Other awards are for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics.

Jordan reported from Berlin.