The spice in a chili pepper is related to chronic pain in the body

In a study conducted at the University of Texas, they found that the substance that gives chili peppers their spice, capsaicin, is similar to a fatty acid found in areas of pain. When eaten, the substance binds to receptors in the body to create a burning sensation. When injured, the fatty acid, oxidized linoleic acid metabolites (OLAMs), was discovered to bind to receptors to cause pain. When the substance is blocked, it was discovered that chronic pain was eliminated. The gene responsible for the production of the OLAMs was knocked out in mice and the subjects became unresponsive to capsaicin. New non-addictive therapies have been created from this study to potentially treat chronic pain.

I found this article interesting because you would never expect that a substance that most people use for a spice is so similar to a component used in our own bodies to give the sensation of pain. Harnessing this information to its full potentional could result in revolutionary treatments in cancer and inflammatory diseases by either stopping the production of the substance or learning how to block the receptors that bind to this fatty acid.