Tongue’s Sixth ‘Taste’ Discovered -- Calcium; Monell Chemical Senses Center Study Finds New Flavor Mice Can Detect, Suggesting People Can As Well

ScienceDaily (Aug. 21, 2008) — Chemists in Philadelphia are reporting a discovery that could expand the palate of human tastes — sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory -- to include a new taste sensation that they term “calcium.” In a report scheduled for presentation here today at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, scientist Michael G. Tordoff, Ph.D., and colleagues with the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia describe research they say demonstrates that a taste for calcium exists in mice. With mice and humans sharing many of the same genes, the findings suggest that people also may have such a taste, which could have a range of practical applications.

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