London, August 4 (ANI): The unique weapon that enables vampire bats to zero in on the best spot to bite an animal and find a vein with nourishing blood is actually in their noses, scientists have found.
By investigating wild vampire bats in South America, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cient¡ficas in Caracas, Venezuela have discovered their secret: a sensitive, heat-detecting molecule covering nerve endings on their noses called TRPV1.
"Vampire bats feed on blood, and it's useful for them to have an infrared detector to be able to find the circulation," said David Julius, PhD, the Morris Herzstein Chair in Molecular Biology and Medicine at UCSF, who led the research.
The special molecule, known as TRPV1, allows the vampire bat to detect infrared heat from an animal's circulatory system and efficiently find and feed on blood.
TRPV1, one of these sensory system channels, does belong to a large family of similar molecules common to many types of animals but they differ slightly from animal to animal - both in terms of their DNA and in terms of where they appear in the body.
Subtle changes to these molecules contribute to highly specialized physiologies for sensing the world. Many animals have highly specialized adaptations allowing them to see, feel, hear or taste in special ways, the researchers said.
The study has been published in the journal Nature. (ANI)
|
|
Read More: South Goa
Comments:
