Like treetops reaching high into the sky to sense the sunlight, our sensory neurons—whose role is to collect information about what is happening in and around the body—grow long, intricate extensions known as axons. These ...
Jun 10, 2024
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Nerve cells that sense touch grow the appropriate endings for hairy or hairless skin based on cues from the skin itself, rather than through predetermined programming, according to research led by Harvard Medical School scientists ...
Aug 23, 2023
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An investigation into the origins of the sensation of pain has led to the development of a novel and durable treatment for inflammatory pain that could be a promising alternative to opioids. The preclinical research was conducted ...
Oct 4, 2021
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Loss of an important tumor-suppressing gene allows head and neck cancer to spin off signals to nearby nerves, changing their function and recruiting them to the tumor, where they fuel growth and cancer progression, researchers ...
Feb 12, 2020
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That a finger can distinguish the texture of satin from suede is an exquisite sensory discrimination largely relying on small sensory organs in the fingertips called Merkel discs. Jianguo Gu, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama ...
Oct 12, 2016
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Recent research by Sandra Rieger, Ph.D., of the MDI Biological Laboratory identifying the underlying mechanisms of peripheral neuropathy, or nerve damage, has raised the prospect that drug therapies can be developed for the ...
Apr 14, 2016
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By solving a long standing scientific mystery, the common saying "you just hit a nerve" might need to be updated to "you just hit a Merkel cell," jokes Jianguo Gu, PhD, a pain researcher at the University of Cincinnati (UC).
Apr 15, 2014
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The skin is a human being's largest sensory organ, helping to distinguish between a pleasant contact, like a caress, and a negative sensation, like a pinch or a burn. Previous studies have shown that these sensations are ...
Jan 30, 2013
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In a busy lab at Duke University, Dr. Miguel Nicolelis is merging brain science with engineering in a bid to create something fantastical: a full-body prosthetic device that would allow those immobilized by injury to walk ...
Oct 6, 2011
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You were probably taught that we have five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. This is not quite right: "touch" is not a single sense, but rather several working together.
Mar 2, 2024
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