| Subject: |
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Science actually helps us understand how things work. |
| Name: |
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Arneson |
| Date Posted: |
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Jan 31, 08 - 1:15 PM |
| IP Address: |
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66.41.88.189 |
| Email: |
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puskacanu@yahoo.com |
| Message: |
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Progress in understanding both evolution and function of systems is being made by science. As I have indicated to you before, the science of evo/devo. This article explains how they have isolated a key protein in the functionality of ion channels in mammalian ears. It also indicates that the protein is shared by a broad range of animals in facilitating sensory perception.
"In their paper, Corey and his colleagues present three lines of evidence that the mysterious ion channel is actually TRPA1. TRP proteins are a family of ion channels involved in sensory perception. Different TRPs help insects see and hear and help mammals taste and sense heat and pheromones. A small clan known as TRPN (or NOMPC) helps fruit flies sense touch and fish hear. But the genomes of higher vertebrates, such as reptiles, birds, mice, and people, lack the instruction set to make TRPN channels."
http://focus.hms.harvard.edu/2004/Oct15_2004/neurobiology.html
The fact that this class of proteins is involved in sensory perception in these diverse species points to a path of evolutionary investigation. |
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