Talks from the Bio lab desk

Have you ever wondered why chocolate and chili, or wine and cheese, make such delightful pairs? Why do some flavor combinations taste better together than alone, while others clash terribly? The secret lies in how our brains and taste systems interpret mixed flavors, shaped by biology, ecology, and culture. In this post, we’ll dive into the science of flavor mixing, exploring how different tastes, aromas, and textures combine to create the rich food experiences we crave, and why some combinations work like magic.   What Is Flavor? First, let’s clarify: Taste refers to the five basic sensations detected by taste buds: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. Flavor is a complex perception that combines taste with smell (olfaction) , texture , temperature , and even sound . The nose plays a starring role, over 80% of what we perceive as flavor actually comes from smell!   The Biology of Flavor Mixing Our brains don’t just add flavors togethe...

Taste plays a crucial role in how we experience the world, it influences what we eat, how much we enjoy our food, and even how well we nourish ourselves.  However, there is that instance in which they tastes we gain from our food seem to miss as we consume our food. What happens when taste goes wrong? In this post, we’ll explore how taste perception changes across the human lifespan, how it's affected by illness and medication , and why these changes can have serious consequences for health and quality of life . The Changing Taste Map: Age and Taste Infancy to Childhood So let us go back to where it all, starts, literally. Newborns are born with taste buds that are fully functional.  Babies show clear preferences, in terms of their tastes, such as sweetness (e.g. milk), which is soothing, while bitterness (associated with toxins) causes aversion.  Children have more taste buds per area of tongue than adults, particularly sensitive to bitter, whic...

Have you ever wondered why a chili pepper burns, or why mint leaves a cooling sensation on your tongue?  Surprisingly, these aren’t "tastes" at all, they’re actually chemical tricks on your pain and temperature receptors. In this post, we’ll explore the neuroscience and chemistry behind spiciness, cooling, and tingling sensations in food. These feelings fall under a sensory domain called chemesthesis. I t’s a fascinating way our body perceives the world beyond traditional taste. Spiciness.  The Trick on Your Pain System What causes spiciness? The "heat" you feel from spicy food is usually caused by capsaicin , a compound found in chili peppers. Capsaicin doesn't activate taste buds. Instead, it binds to a receptor called TRPV1 (Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1), which is normally activated by: - Physical heat (>43°C / 109°F) - Acids - Inflammation By binding to TRPV1, capsaicin tricks your brain into thinking you're experiencing heat, ...