Capsaicin is that substance found in chili peppers which causes your mouth to burn like hell or the sun. A person might have either of two types of reactions upon a first encounter with capsaicin in the form of biting into a hot chili pepper. The most common is the non-scientist's reaction. Some scientists led by David Julius, an associate professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology at the University of California in San Francisco, recently discovered the receptor that capsaicin grabs onto in order to trigger the painful burning reaction. That breakthrough was reported in the current issue of the journal Nature.
Receptors are structures found on the surface of nerve cells.
If you know how to look for them, that is. Takes some topnotch magnifying equipment, no doubt. And a lot of complicated researching, too. Scientists in various labs have been looking for that elusive capsaicin receptor for a decade or more. And now that it has been discovered, scientists can figure out how to block it.