Scientists at IMBA are passionate about discovery and advancing our understanding of biology. They are recognized leaders in their fields, regularly publishing in the top research journals. Contributions from IMBA research groups are of interest to everyone – including scientists, clinicians, and the public. The Research Highlights below summarize some of the most significant discoveries made by IMBA scientists.


12.11.2010

Pain gene found in flies, mice and people may have links to creativity

A newly discovered gene which helps to control the sense of pain is linked to synaesthesia, when sensations such as touch also affect other senses like hearing or sight. The rare condition causes some people to see sounds or written words as colours, or experience tastes, smells and shapes in linked combinations. Famous synaesthetes include composers Franz Liszt or Olivier Messiaens, and this condition has been linked to creativity and intelligence.

The paper „A genome-wide Drosophila screen for heat nociception identifies ?2?3 as an evolutionary conserved pain gene” (Neely et al.) by Josef Penninger and Greg Neely, together with Clifford Woolf of Harvard Medical School, Boston, will be published in Cell on November 12, 2010.