The human upper respiratory tract (URT) offers a variety of niches for microbial colonization.
Local microbial communities are shaped by the different characteristics of the specific …

The immune system protects from infections primarily by detecting and eliminating the
invading pathogens; however, the host organism can also protect itself from infectious …

Nociceptor sensory neurons are specialized to detect potentially damaging stimuli,
protecting the organism by initiating the sensation of pain and eliciting defensive …

Breathing is essential for survival and under precise neural control. The vagus nerve is a
major conduit between lung and brain required for normal respiration. Here, we identify two …

The formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) are G protein-coupled receptors that transduce
chemotactic signals in phagocytes and mediate host-defense as well as inflammatory …

The biological olfactory system is the sensory system responsible for the detection of the
chemical composition of the environment. Several attempts to mimic biological olfactory …

Remarkable advances in our understanding of olfactory perception have been made in
recent years, including the discovery of new mechanisms of olfactory signaling and new …

The upper respiratory tract is continually assaulted with harmful dusts and xenobiotics
carried on the incoming airstream. Detection of such irritants by the trigeminal nerve evokes …

Mammalian pheromones control a myriad of innate social behaviors and acutely regulate
hormone levels. Responses to pheromones are highly robust, reproducible, and stereotyped …

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) has a key role in mediating the social and defensive
responses of many terrestrial vertebrates to species-and sex-specific chemosignals. More …