taste bud

What:

"A taste bud is like a mini-brain," Kinnamon says. "It receives input from the external environment, makes decisions, and then sends output to other parts of the nervous system. And it's a whole lot easier to study a taste bud than a brain."

Writer: John Kinnamon

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Date: Dec 10 2014 3:29 PM

What:

"Taste cells are present in the taste buds on the tongue. A taste bud is like an onion-shaped structure consisting of between 15 to 100 taste cells," Dr. Chia illustrated. Researchers at the NIA found the hormones contained with the taste cells on the tongue in mice to be glucagon and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). These are the hormones that help the body regulate sugar. Glucagon increases glucose levels, GLP-1 regulates insulin secretion and lowers blood sugar. Researchers found taste bud size decreased as the mice aged.

Writer: Chee Chia, MD

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Date: Dec 10 2014 3:30 PM

What:

"Taste is not well understood, but it appears that each taste bud is like a tiny computer that analyzes, codes and sends to the brain inputs from as many as 100 sensory cells, each of which responds most strongly to one of the basic tastes. These individual taste cells only last about 10 days, which means your holiday leftovers often outlast the cells you enjoyed the original with - which makes it remarkable the food still tastes the same."

Writer: Edward Willett

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Date: Dec 10 2014 3:32 PM