Scientists took a break from working on their cure from cancer to answer one of the most complex questions of our time: "why are wool sweaters so itchy?"
The reason, according to Johns Hopkins researchers, is a type of sensory nerve cell whose endings receive information from the skin and relay it to other nerves in the spinal cord.
Ironically the "science" used to discover this was much more complex than putting on wool sweaters and asking, "does this itch?" In one test, researchers put the tails of mic in hot water to see if they would scratch their legs. They also examined the cells that reported pain, using electricity, chili peppers, and "itch-inducing" stimulants.
