Vampire bats fitted with 'blood radar'
"They do seem to be skilled to find hot spots in prey and sometimes it's quite sensitive firmness parts," said Professor Gareth Jones, cut off of bat ecology at the University of Bristol.
The study, published today in Features, reveals that the thermo-receptors in the pit organ are activated by temperatures above 30C, minute to the temperature of the blood of most mammals. The sensor is a variation of similar heat-sensitive nerves called TRPV1 found in the gall endings of mammals, including human beings.
Uncovering the molecular point of departure for heat sensitivity could help to develop new treatment for people with hypersensitivity to passion after injury and inflammation, such as sunburn victims or patients who suffer from continuing pain.
David Julius, a molecular biologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the inquiry, said: "Pain is necessary as a admonition system to let us know when we are in danger of injury but, at the same time, pain can outlive its applicability when it fails to resolve and becomes chronic and debilitating."