Welcome to a lecture with the 2021 Nobel Laureate in Medicine

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2021 was equally shared between Ardem Patapoutian and David Julius for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet wrote in a press release:

"The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2021 was awarded jointly to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.

Our ability to sense heat, cold and touch is essential for survival and underpins our interaction with the world around us. In our daily lives we take these sensations for granted, but how are nerve impulses initiated so that temperature and pressure can be perceived? This question has been solved by this year’s Nobel Prize Laureates. David Julius utilized capsaicin, a pungent compound from chili peppers that induces a burning sensation, to identify a sensor in the nerve endings of the skin that responds to heat. Ardem Patapoutian used pressure-sensitive cells to discover a novel class of sensors that respond to mechanical stimuli in the skin and internal organs. 

These breakthrough discoveries launched intense research activities leading to a rapid increase in our understanding of how our nervous system senses heat, cold, and mechanical stimuli. The Laureates identified critical missing links in our understanding of the complex interplay between our senses and the environment." 

Since the year 2000 Ardem Patapoutian conducts his research at Scripps Research, La Jolla, California, where he is Professor at the Department of Neuroscience.

The lecture is in English and the title is How do you feel? The molecules that sense touch.