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

Speaking on the occasion, the Nobel jury said, “The groundbreaking discoveries…by this year’s Nobel Prize laureates have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world around us.”

David Julius utilized capsaicin, a pungent compound from chilli 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. Both the Nobel laureates have identified the missing links to help us understand the complex interplay between our senses and the environment. Their discoveries are being used to develop treatments for a wide range of diseases such as chronic pain.