Many of the internal organ systems of Drosophila melanogaster are functionally analogous
to those in vertebrates, including humans. Although humans and flies differ greatly in terms …

The sense of smell enables insects to recognize and discriminate a broad range of volatile
chemicals in their environment originating from prey, host plants and conspecifics. These …

Neuroscience research has exploded, with more than fifty thousand neuroscientists applying
increasingly advanced methods. A mountain of new facts and mechanisms has emerged …

Mammalian homologues of the Drosophila transient receptor potential (TRP) channel gene
encode a family of at least 20 ion channel proteins. They are widely distributed in …

The transient receptor potential (TRP) protein superfamily consists of a diverse group of
cation channels that bear structural similarities to Drosophila TRP. TRP channels play …

Chili peppers produce the pungent vanilloid compound capsaicin, which offers protection
from predatory mammals. Birds are indifferent to the pain-producing effects of capsaicin and …

Mutations in ion channels involved in the generation and termination of action potentials
constitute a family of molecular defects that underlie fatal cardiac arrhythmias in inherited …

Typically at dawn on a hot summer day, land plants need precise molecular thermometers to
sense harmless increments in the ambient temperature to induce a timely heat shock …

Charles Darwin appreciated the conceptual difficulty in accepting that an organ as wonderful
as the vertebrate eye could have evolved through natural selection. He reasoned that if …

To permit direct functional analyses of neural circuits, we have developed a method for
stimulating groups of genetically designated neurons optically. Coexpression of the …