Leading by the nose: Star-nosed mole reveals how mammals perceive touch, pain
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 - 17:30
in Biology & Nature
The most sensitive patch of mammalian skin known to us isn't human but on the star-shaped tip of the star-nosed mole's snout. Researchers studying this organ have found that the star has a higher proportion of touch-sensitive nerve endings than pain receptors, according to a study published January 30 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Diana Bautista and colleagues from the University of California, Berkeley and Vanderbilt University.