The aroma of roasted cocoa beans – the key ingredient of chocolate – comes from substances that individually smell like potato chips, cooked meat, peaches, raw beef fat, cooked cabbage, human sweat, dirt and an improbable palate of other distinctly un-cocoa-like aromas. That’s among the discoveries emerging from an effort to reverse engineer the essential […]
University of Southern California scientists have discovered that the carbon dioxide in fizzy drinks activates the same pain sensors as mustard and horseradish, leading them to speculate that we consume soda to prove our toughness. Emily Liman, senior author of the study into carbonation’s effects, explained that it evokes two distinct sensations. “It makes things […]
The latest issue of the journal Neuron carries news of a “sixth sense” that scientists say can detect calories in food without the involvement of our regular taste sensors. In the experiments, the researchers genetically altered mice to remove their sweet taste receptor cells, making them “sweet-blind.” The research team then performed behavioral tests in […]
