Neanderthals may have had a lower threshold for pain
Thursday, July 23, 2020 - 15:11
in Biology & Nature
Pain is mediated through specialized nerve cells that are activated when potentially harmful things affect various parts of our bodies. These nerve cells have a special ion channel that has a key role in starting the electrical impulse that signals pain and is sent to the brain. According to a new study, people who inherited the Neanderthal variant of this ion channel experience more pain.