Taste is one of our most vital senses, shaping appetite, nutrition, and quality of life. Yet taste buds are fragile, relying heavily on the nerves that connect them to the brain. When those nerves are ...

A biologist studies blind cavefish, a species of fish that dwell in cave ponds in Mexico. He looked at the timeline for when the cavefish develop additional taste buds on the head and chin, finding ...

Sweet-sensing taste cells, supported by the protein c-Kit, show remarkable resilience when nerves are damaged, unlike other taste cells that quickly degenerate. Blocking c-Kit with the drug imatinib ...

Everyone’s taste buds are different. That’s why some people can swallow the spiciest peppers while others have no fondness for sweet desserts (gasp!). Now a recent study suggests that taste-bud ...