A University of Michigan-led study of penguin genetics has concluded that the flightless aquatic birds lost three of the five basic vertebrate tastes—sweet, bitter and the savory, meaty taste known as umami—more than ...
Biotechnology
Feb 16, 2015
1
484
Humans can sense five different tastes: sour, sweet, umami, bitter, and salty, using specialized sensors on our tongues called taste receptors. Other than allowing us to enjoy delicious foods, the sensation of taste allows ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 10, 2024
0
37
A research team from the University of Cologne, in collaboration with colleagues from the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology in Freising, has discovered a receptor for bitter taste in twelve different cartilaginous ...
Evolution
Nov 13, 2023
0
57
During the Battle of Flanders in July 1917, German soldiers deployed sulfur mustard-containing artillery shells on unsuspecting British and Canadian troops, marking the first time "mustard gas" had been used as a chemical ...
Biochemistry
Oct 18, 2023
0
31
Taste receptors for bitter substances are not only found on the tongue but also on cells outside the oral cavity. As a new study by the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich now ...
Evolution
Jul 3, 2023
0
37
Surprisingly, bitter taste receptors are not only located in the mouth, but also elsewhere in the body, including the airways. Activating those receptors opens up lung passageways, so they're a potential target for treating ...
Biochemistry
Mar 13, 2023
0
26
A team of researchers from Harvard University, the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute reports evidence that certain learning differences between individuals of the ...
Sour taste does not have the nearly universal appeal that sweet taste does. Slightly sour foods or drinks such as yogurt and lemon juice are yummy to many, but such highly sour foods as spoiled milk are yucky, even dangerous. ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 18, 2021
0
16
A new study that examines the genetics behind the bitter taste of some sorghum plants and one of Africa's most reviled bird species illustrates how human genetics, crops and the environment influence one another in the process ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 11, 2019
0
149
A team of researchers with members from Spain, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy has found the genetic difference between bitter wild almonds and the sweet domesticated variety. In their paper published in the journal Science, ...
