Tasty Labs
The Anatomy class dabbled in the world of taste and perception through a series of edible experiments.
1) By dying their tongues blue, students could count the number of fungiform papillae on their tongues, which are small structures that house our taste buds. Individuals who have a higher density of these papillae have a more acute sense of taste, and are called “supertasters”.
2) The class also experimented with separating the sense of taste from the sense of smell. By tasting various flavors with their noses pinched closed, students experienced first-hand how much our olfactory sense contributes to our ability to distinguish flavors.
3) The protein Miraculin is known for its ability to transform sour tastes into sweet sensations. By coating their tongues with Miraculin before tasting sour substances, students experienced this extraordinary taste alteration themselves with a variety of normally sour selections.