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Vampire bats found to have blood-seeking sensors in noses
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
August 5th, 2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
August 5th, 2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
Vampire bats, the fearsome night dwelling creatures of legend, must feed
on blood every day to stay alive. Now - Venezuelan scientists have
discovered a heat-sensing mechanism used by the bats to detect their
next meal. Using what is essentially infrared sensors, the bats can
pinpoint the highest concentration of blood closest to their prey's skin
in order to feed.
Researchers at the UCSF and the Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas in Caracas, Venezuela studying wild vampire bats in South America were able to identify a special biological process. The creatures possess a sensitive, heat-detecting molecule found in vampire bat noses called TRPV1.
Scientists now hope their research will; have practical, human purposes. They say their research can aid the development of a new class of pain medications that target molecules like TRPV1, the same molecule involved in common pain sensation, as occurs with sunburn.
"There is a double-edged sword with pain," Julius said. "Pain is necessary as a warning system to let us know when we are in danger of injury but, at the same time, pain can outlive its usefulness as a warning system when it fails to resolve and becomes chronic and debilitating."
The discovery pinpoints how even small changes to genes in the genome of a species can contribute to major evolutionary adaptations over time, in this case, giving vampire bats the ability to detect infrared heat.
Researchers have known for years that pits on vampire bats' noses allow them to detect blood vessels because they radiate heat. But no one knew exactly how this occurred.
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