Taste Receptor News and Research

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Saliva could modify dietary choices

Saliva is crucial for tasting and digesting food, but scientists have now found that it may have another, more subtle role.

20 Aug 2018

High bitter-taste sensitivity linked to increased risk of cancer

High bitter-taste sensitivity is associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer in older British women, according to researchers who conducted a unique study of 5,500 women whose diet, lifestyle and health has been tracked for about 20 years.

18 Jul 2018

Penn research could pave way toward new treatments for chronic sinus infections

Bitter taste receptors in the upper airway are a first line of defense against sinus infections, but their ability to kill harmful toxins and pathogens is blocked when the sweet taste receptors are also stimulated.

8 Sep 2017

New discovery provides insights into how the tongue preserves its sense of taste

New research at Columbia University Medical Center has revealed how special molecules help the tongue communicate with the brain to identify the correct taste.

10 Aug 2017

Sour-sensing taste cells play key role in detecting water on the tongue

New research from Caltech shows that sour-sensing taste cells play an important role in detecting water on the tongue.

1 Jun 2017

Monell Center receives Gates Foundation grant to support innovative global health research project

The Monell Center announced today that it has received a $345,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant supports an innovative global health research project titled, "Developing Novel Pediatric Formulation Technologies for Global Health: Human Taste Assays."

1 Dec 2016

Small piece of detoxified E. coli wall makes mice lose natural sweet tooth, study finds

Putting just a tiny piece of the wall of detoxified E. coli into their gut make mice lose their natural sweet tooth, researchers report.

20 Apr 2016

Genetic factors influence consumption of alcoholic beverages

How people perceive and taste alcohol depends on genetic factors, and that influences whether they "like" and consume alcoholic beverages, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

25 Sep 2014

Study indicates that non-nutritive sugar substitutes are no sweeter than sugar

The taste of common sugar substitutes is often described as being much more intense than sugar, but participants in a recent study indicated that these non-nutritive sugar substitutes are no sweeter than the real thing, according to Penn State food scientists.

5 Sep 2014

Interaction of stress and taste systems could help explain stress-related eating

According to new research from the Monell Center, receptors for stress-activated hormones have been localized in oral taste cells responsible for detection of sweet, umami, and bitter. The findings suggest that these hormones, known as glucocorticoids, may act directly on taste receptor cells under conditions of stress to affect how these cells respond to sugars and certain other taste stimuli.

4 Jun 2014

Taste receptors act as first line sentinels against infection in upper airway

The body uses mucus as a protective barrier to defend against pathogens, toxins, and allergens in the upper respiratory tract that can lead to such conditions as chronic sinusitis.

19 Feb 2014

Study reveals how obesity alters our relationship to food

Obesity may alter the way we taste at the most fundamental level: by changing how our tongues react to different foods.

22 Nov 2013

Study explains how sensory input impacts fruit flies' decisions about sweet taste

Fruit flies have a lot to teach us about the complexity of food. Like these tiny little creatures, most animals are attracted to sugar but are deterred from eating it when bitter compounds are added.

29 Aug 2013

Genetics may play role in how people's taste receptors send signals

Genetics may play a role in how people's taste receptors send signals, leading to a wide spectrum of taste preferences, according to Penn State food scientists. These varied, genetically influenced responses may mean that food and drink companies will need a range of artificial sweeteners to accommodate different consumer tastes.

21 Aug 2013

Monell Center molecular neurobiologist to receive Ajinomoto Award for Young Investigators in Gustation

Monell Center molecular neurobiologist Peihua Jiang, PhD, is the 2013 recipient of the Ajinomoto Award for Young Investigators in Gustation, an annual award presented by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) to an exceptional junior scientist who is a rising leader in the field of gustation.

16 Apr 2013

CALHM1 protein plays critical role in sweet, bitter and umami taste perception

Working with a multidisciplinary consortium of 19 researchers from nine institutions, Monell scientists have provided critical information to identify CALHM1, a channel in the walls of taste receptor cells, as a necessary component in the process of sweet, bitter, and umami (savory) taste perception.

7 Mar 2013

Identification of progenitors may help treat clinical taste dysfunction

Scientists at the Monell Center have identified the location and certain genetic characteristics of taste stem cells on the tongue. The findings will facilitate techniques to grow and manipulate new functional taste cells for both clinical and research purposes.

4 Feb 2013

Taste receptor governs respiratory infection susceptibility

The bitter taste receptor TAS2R38 may play a role in innate defense, say researchers, who have found that variations in the TAS2R38 gene may regulate susceptibility to respiratory infection.

12 Nov 2012

T2R38 taste receptor regulates immune defense of the human upper airway

The immune system protects the upper respiratory tract from bacterial infections, but the cues that alert the immune system to the presence of bacteria are not known. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Noam Cohen at the University of Pennsylvania demonstrated that the bitter taste receptor T2R38 regulates the immune defense of the human upper airway.

9 Oct 2012

TAS2R38 and CD36 gene may play a role in fat perception

While high-fat foods are thought to be of universal appeal, there is actually a lot of variation in the extent to which people like and consume fat. A new study in the March issue of the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists, reported that two specific genes, may play a role in some people's ability to taste and enjoy dietary fat.

23 Mar 2012