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INFRARED DETECTION BY SNAKES. "Snakes possess a unique sensory system for detecting infrared radiation, enabling them to generate a ‘thermal image’ of predators or prey. Infrared signals are initially received by the pit organ, a highly specialized facial structure that is innervated by nerve fibres of the somatosensory system." https://lnkd.in/e9jVgFP View in LinkedIn

VERTEBRATE TEMPERATURE DETECTION. "Several major classes of ion channels contribute to this process: (iii) leak channels, which dynamically regulate the membrane potential at rest through voltage-independent potassium efflux." https://lnkd.in/eFfEp_R View in LinkedIn

VERTEBRATE TEMPERATURE DETECTION. "Several major classes of ion channels contribute to this process: (ii) voltage-gated sodium and potassium channels, which open in response to receptor-mediated depolarization and propagate action potentials;" https://lnkd.in/eFfEp_R View in LinkedIn

VERTEBRATE TEMPERATURE DETECTION. "Several major classes of ion channels contribute to this process: (i) receptor channels, which detect temperature changes and depolarize neurons via a non-selective cation influx;" https://lnkd.in/eFfEp_R View in LinkedIn

"THERMAL PERCEPTION is a fundamental physiological process pertaining to the vast majority of organisms. In vertebrates, environmental temperature is detected by the primary afferents of the somatosensory neurons in the skin, which express a ‘choir’ of ion channels tuned to detect particular temperatures." https://lnkd.in/eFfEp_R View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT IN NATURE for the next two weekends covers a fascinating, multifunctional molecule that exists in many kingdoms, namely, TRPA1. This molecule belongs to a large structurally-related family which has a phenomenally diverse set of biological functions, and an equally large number of activators. This is a case study of biochemical nuances expressed in diverse physiological responses. View in LinkedIn

UPDATE: Hendo 2.0: The $10,000 hoverboard that will send you right into the future https://lnkd.in/eh4rrZq View in LinkedIn

MIRAGE. "Just when you thought invisibility cloaks couldn’t get any weirder, researchers come up with this: a way to make one object look like any other. Now Che Chan and pals from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology say that metamaterials could be used for an even more exotic effect: for cloaks that create the illusion that a different object is present." https://lnkd.in/exKwCuQ View in LinkedIn

UNUSUAL MOLECULE. "As a temperature sensor, TRPA1 is intriguing, because while this ancient polymodal ion channel is found throughout vertebrates and invertebrates, it has acquired divergent functions over the course of evolution, such as temperature or chemical sensitivity, depending on the group of species under consideration." https://lnkd.in/e-WBvC9 View in LinkedIn

ILLUSION CLOAKS. "They’ve even designed illusion cloaks that can make one object look like another." https://lnkd.in/eVgKzAT View in LinkedIn