Taste Receptor News and Research

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Unlocking the Molecular Secrets of Sweet Taste Perception

Our enjoyment of sweets can be traced to one subset of taste receptor cells – specialized sweet-sensing cells found in our taste buds – that initiate the chain of reactions driving our strong attraction and appetite for sugar.

8 May 2025

Coffee's Bitter Taste Linked to Genetics and Roasting Process

Why does coffee taste more bitter to some people than it does to others? Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich have now come closer to answering this question.

30 Jan 2025

Study Reveals How Sweet Taste Receptor Regulates Blood Sugar and Insulin

The rich research portfolio of the Monell Chemical Senses Center on sweet taste goes way back: Monell scientists were one of four teams in 2001 that found and described the mammalian sweet taste receptor – TAS1R2-TAS1R3.

20 May 2024

Researchers Shed Light on Complex Interplay Between Taste Perception and Immune Function

A bitter taste in the mouth is often a symptom or side effect of illness, which may be the result of how the body reacts to pathogens. A new study published in iScience, by Hong Wang, PhD, an Associate Member at the Monell Chemical Sense Center, and colleagues sheds light on the mechanisms involved in the complex interplay between taste perception and immune function.

25 Aug 2023

Researchers Show How Different Taste Cells are Affected by Inflammation Using Gene Mapping Tool

A bitter taste in the mouth is often a symptom or side effect of illness, which may be the result of how the body reacts to pathogens.

23 Aug 2023

Study Provides New Insight Into the Evolutionary History of Gorillas

An international research study led by the University of Vienna (Austria) and the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) in Barcelona (Spain), recently published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, provides a better insight into the evolutionary history of gorillas.

31 Jul 2023

Extraoral Bitter Taste Receptors Serve as Endogenous Sensors for Bile Acids

Taste receptors for bitter substances are not only observed on the tongue but also on cells outside of the oral cavity.

5 Jul 2023

Fructose is Needed for Enhanced Egg Production in Fruit Flies, Study Reveals

To many people, the sugars we eat may seem like a luxury that can do more harm than good. But now, researchers from Japan have discovered that in insects, dietary sugars play a key role in reproduction.

25 May 2023

Chloride ions evoke taste sensation by binding to sweet taste receptors

Humans perceive five basic taste sensations: sweet, umami, bitter, salty, and sour. Specific foods trigger taste recognition of these sensations through the activation of different receptors in our taste buds.

24 Mar 2023

Study helps to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying complex taste sensations

Chicory is a popular salad ingredient, and its bitterness harmonizes well with apples or balsamic vinegar.

24 Jan 2023

Researchers find a sour receptor conserved from fruit flies to humans

Humans and fruit flies respond to many of the same tastes -; sweet, salty, bitter and so on. The receptors that identify these substances, however, are very different between us and insects. Except when it comes to sour.

14 Dec 2021

Gallic acid regulates gastric acid secretion by activating bitter taste receptor

An Austrian–German group of researchers recently discovered proof that gallic acid influences gastric acid release by driving a bitter receptor.

29 Oct 2021

Researchers investigate role of sweet taste receptor in the regulation of satiety

The sweet taste of sugar is very popular worldwide. In Austria and Germany, the yearly intake per person adds up to about 33 and 34 kilograms, respectively. Thus, sugar plays an increasingly role in the nutrition and health of the population, especially with regard to body weight.

11 Nov 2020