700 scientists to present new information on smell and taste at AChemS 32nd annual meeting

Researchers gather in St. Pete, Fla.

The Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS), a US-based scientific organization, is holding its 32nd annual meeting. About 700 scientists are gathering to present new information on the role of smell and taste in disease, nutrition and social interactions in humans as well as animals. Smell and taste play essential roles in our daily lives. These chemical senses serve as important warning systems, alerting us to the presence of potentially harmful situations or substances, including gas leaks, smoke, and spoiled food. Flavors and fragrances are also important in determining what foods we eat and the commercial products we use. The pleasures derived from eating are mainly based on the chemical senses. Thousands of Americans experience loss of smell or taste each year resulting from head trauma, sinus disease, normal aging and neurological disorders, such as brain injury, stroke and Alzheimer's disease. By providing a better understanding of the function of chemosensory systems, scientific and biomedical research is leading to improvements in the diagnoses and treatment of smell and taste disorders.

Members of AChemS (http://www.achems.org) are arriving in St. Pete to present the latest findings generated from research on taste, smell and related issues (see program at http://www.achems.org/files/public/PROGRAMFINAL.pdf). Research topics range from molecular biology to the clinical diagnosis and treatment of smell and taste disorders.

Additionally, there will be 6 special-subject symposia, lectures and workshops (see http://www.achems.org/files/public/DescriptionsforWeb.pdf). Throughout the five-day meeting there will be nearly 374 presentations by scientists from around the world (see all scientific abstracts at http://www.flip-programs.com/ACHEMS/2010_Abstracts/.

Selected new discoveries to be presented at the meeting include:

• Monell researchers confirm identity of elusive salty taste receptor: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3883; contact Dr. Natalia P. Bosak, [email protected]).

• Chemosensory loss: functional consequences of the world trade center disaster: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3884; contact Dr. Pamela Dalton, [email protected]).

• Taste buds help diabetics avoid salt: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3885; contact Dr. Timothy A. Gilbertson, [email protected]).

• Taste aversion to quinine in mosquitoes: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3886; contact Dr. Jae Kwak, [email protected]).

• For once: men outsmell women: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3887; contact Dr. Matthias Laska, [email protected]).

• Taste enhancers are received by taste cells: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3888; contact Dr. Yutaka Maruyama, [email protected]).

• Age dramatically delays recovery of sense of taste: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3889; contact Dr. Lynnette McCluskey, [email protected]).

• Early neurocognitive changes in those at risk for Alzheimer's disease: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3890; contact Dr. Charlie Morgan, [email protected]).
• The bitter taste of feeling queasy: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3891; contact Dr. Catherine Peyrot des Gachons, [email protected]).

• New salt taste enhancers discovered for healthier foods: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3892; contact Dr. Kambiz Shekdar, [email protected]).

• Discovery of new odor-based tools may block mosquitoes from finding humans: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3893; contact Dr. Stephanie Turner, [email protected]).

• The brain can smell what it hears: (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3894; contact Dr. Daniel Wesson, [email protected]).

• Reduced olfaction in Parkinson's disease - what does it tell us? (https://www.achems.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3895; contact Dr. Birgit Westermann, [email protected]).