Story perspectives

Mouse Skin Cells Sense Both Heat and Cold, Study Shows

7/17/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers at the University of Queensland, Clarissa Whitmire and Phillip Bokiniec, imaged thousands of mouse thermoreceptors and showed skin thermoreceptor cells signal both cooling and warming, overturning the separate-sensor view.
The cells increased activity when cooled and decreased it when warmed, indicating bidirectional signaling.
The study in Neuron links thermoreceptor impairment to thermal dysregulation in spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and aging and will track function to develop therapies.

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Story summary

Researchers at the University of Queensland, Clarissa Whitmire and Phillip Bokiniec, imaged thousands of mouse thermoreceptors and showed skin thermoreceptor cells signal both cooling and warming, overturning the separate-sensor view.
The cells increased activity when cooled and decreased it when warmed, indicating bidirectional signaling.
The study in Neuron links thermoreceptor impairment to thermal dysregulation in spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and aging and will track function to develop therapies.