Work

Our ability to sense heat, cold and touch is essential for survival and underpins our interaction with the world around us. In the late 1990s, David Julius investigated how temperature is translated into nerve impulses. He utilized capsaicin, a compound from chili peppers that induces a burning sensation, and DNA fragments, genes, which are active in heat-sensing neurons. One single gene was able to make cells capsaicin sensitive. Further experiments revealed that the gene encoded a heat-sensing receptor on the neurons.