Measurement of thermal contribution to photoreceptor sensitivity
Article Abstract:
It has been possible to estimate pigment activation for spectrally different and spectrally similar visual pigments. This research involved measuring the effect of warming increasing relative visual sensitivity to long wavelengths in amphibian photoreceptors with different pigments. The prediction of an inverse relation between pigment activation and maximum absorbance was tested experimentally. The thermal-energy contribution to visual excitation expands the range of long-wavelength light available for vision, and implies that pigments may be activated even in the absence of photons.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2000
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Contribution of bedrock nitrogen to high nitrate concentrations in stream water
Article Abstract:
Bedrock containing significant amounts of fixed nitrogen are shown to contribute high amounts fo nitrate to surface waters in some California watersheds. Geological nitrogen could be a large and previously unappreciated source of nitrate to surface waters, and this may particularly significant as nitrate contamination at even low levels can cause infant methaemoglobinaemia and has been implicated in some cancers.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1998
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Thermal stimulation of taste
Article Abstract:
Heating or cooling small areas of the tongue was found to cause sensations of taste. If the anterior edge of the tongue is warmed from a cold temperature, sweetness is evoked, while cooling evoked sourness and saltiness. It is suggested that the human gustatory system has many different types of thermally sensitive neurons that contribute to the sensory taste codes.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 2000
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