http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/hot-peppers-pain/ Sat, 18 May 2013 22:36:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/hot-peppers-pain/#comment-12487 Flaky Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:31:31 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/29/hot-peppers-pain/#comment-12487 Sorry, if I was unclear, I was typing on a mobile phone. I meant that the plants protect themselves from microbial infections. That this might in fact be the primary purpose of capsaicinoids, although apparently it is true that capsicum seeds that pass through mammalian digestive tract do not germinate. <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/105/33/11808.abstract" rel="nofollow">http://www.pnas.org/content/105/33/11808.abstract</a> Sorry, if I was unclear, I was typing on a mobile phone. I meant that the plants protect themselves from microbial infections. That this might in fact be the primary purpose of capsaicinoids, although apparently it is true that capsicum seeds that pass through mammalian digestive tract do not germinate. http://www.pnas.org/content/105/33/11808.abstract

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/hot-peppers-pain/#comment-12486 razib Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:12:10 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/29/hot-peppers-pain/#comment-12486 <i>Recently there were some news that the capsaicin is selected for its antimicrobial qualities, not so much as a mammal repellant.</i> the relevance to anthropology in a functional context differs from a zoological one.... Recently there were some news that the capsaicin is selected for its antimicrobial qualities, not so much as a mammal repellant.
the relevance to anthropology in a functional context differs from a zoological one….

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/hot-peppers-pain/#comment-12485 flaky Tue, 30 Sep 2008 05:22:57 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/29/hot-peppers-pain/#comment-12485 Recently there were some news that the capsaicin is selected for its antimicrobial qualities, not so much as a mammal repellant. Recently there were some news that the capsaicin is selected for its antimicrobial qualities, not so much as a mammal repellant.

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/hot-peppers-pain/#comment-12484 razib Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:49:12 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/29/hot-peppers-pain/#comment-12484 my understanding is that the pepper plants want *birds* to eat their seeds preferentially since that resuls in much greater dispersal than if mammals consumed them.... my understanding is that the pepper plants want *birds* to eat their seeds preferentially since that resuls in much greater dispersal than if mammals consumed them….

]]> http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/hot-peppers-pain/#comment-12483 Matt Springer Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:31:27 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2008/09/29/hot-peppers-pain/#comment-12483 While Mythbusters isn't exactly peer-reviewed science, they did an episode that involved repelling sharks with balloons filled with hot chili. The sharks reacted exactly the same way to the hot and the not-hot chili balloons, which is to say they ate dozens of both kinds quite happily. While Mythbusters isn’t exactly peer-reviewed science, they did an episode that involved repelling sharks with balloons filled with hot chili. The sharks reacted exactly the same way to the hot and the not-hot chili balloons, which is to say they ate dozens of both kinds quite happily.

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