Tuesday, 7 February, 2012

Horseradish, onions and caffeine all activate a group of chemical receptors that can trigger a pain signal. Turns out the same receptors exist in fruitflies, mussels, corals and mule deer. Why has this receptor survived a half-billion years? Because it protects against toxic chemicals – even if they taste good in small doses!

Animals spend a lot of energy avoiding toxic chemicals in their food. A new type of gene that does this in fruit flies reinforces the importance of reproduction in shaping evolution.

To measure the molecules that give food taste, you need a standardized eating machine. One has finally arrived, courtesy of food technologists in France (of all places!). Meet the mechanical masticator!

It’s all about phospholipids, says John Moore, director of the Institute for Chemical Education at UW-Madison. Not a flavor guy himself, he poked around and learned that these oily, fatty materials affect receptors that sense the bitter flavor. Detergents in toothpaste, including sodium laurel sulfate, break up phospholipids that are normally on the tongue, Moore [...]