Fly Research Explains Humans’ Most Mysterious Physical Sense
Stroke the soft body of a newborn fruit fly larva ever-so-gently with a freshly plucked eyelash, and it will respond to the tickle by altering its movement — an observation that has helped scientists at the Univ. of California, San Francisco (UCSF) uncover the molecular basis of gentle touch, one of the most fundamental but least well understood of humans’ senses.
Our ability to sense gentle touch is known to develop early and to remain ever-present in our lives, from the first loving caresses our mothers lavish on us as newborns to the fading tingle we feel as our lives slip away. But until now, scientists have not known exactly how humans and other organisms perceive such sensations.
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