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Mol. Interv., Vol. 7, No. 2. (1 April 2007), pp. 87-98.Over the last decade, many of the molecular components that mediate the transduction of taste signaling have been elucidated. The chemosensory receptors for taste have been identified as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and ion channels that are expressed on the surface of highly specialized taste sensory cells. Tastant molecules act as agonists, binding to and stabilizing active conformations of receptors, resulting in the initiation of signal transduction cascades. Taste signaling, therefore, should be amenable to the methods of pharmacology. This review focuses on the GPCR-mediated signaling of bitter, sweet, and umami tastes and emphasizes the opportunities for pharmacologic evaluation. 10.1124/mi.7.2.9Kyle Palmer, citeulike.org

Pflügers Archiv, Vol. 453, No. 2. (November 2006), pp. 125-131.Liman, Emily, citeulike.org

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Vol. 308, No. 2. (22 September 2004), pp. 221-236.Although most invertebrate larvae are weak swimmers and act as passive particles on horizontal scales, they may be able to regulate their vertical position in response to different factors, including increased food concentration. We examined the effect of the quality of food patches on larval vertical distribution for the sea urchins Lytechinus variegatus and Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, and determined the effect of dietary conditioning on that response in the laboratory. We reared larvae on a mixed algal diet of Dunaliella tertiolecta and Isochrysis galbana under low (500 cells ml-1) and high (5000 cells ml-1) rations. Food patches were maintained in Plexiglas rectangular columns (30x10x10 cm) using a density gradient, where practical salinity in the bottom layer was 33, in the middle layer 30, and in the top layer 27. We examined the magnitude and mechanism of a behavioural response of larvae of L. variegatus in the four-arm stage, and on two developmental stages of S. droebachiensis (four- and six-arm), by manipulating patch quality. In the absence of a patch, larvae of both species and developmental stages swam through to the surface of the experimental columns. In the presence of algae, fewer larvae were present above the patch and more were at the patch than in control columns. More larvae swam through patches of "unflavoured" algal mimics than algal patches, and aggregated at the surface. Larval distribution relative to patches of algal filtrate without algal cells or of "flavoured" algal mimics in algal filtrate was not consistently different from that in either control or algal patches; thus, the magnitude of larval response to filtrate (with or without particles) was intermediate between that to control and algal patches. For L. variegatus, more larvae crossed the patches when reared on low than high rations, indicating that poorly conditioned larvae may be less responsive to environmental cues. Our results suggest that larvae can actively aggregate and maintain a vertical position in response to a food patch that depends on the quality and quantity of food. The response appears to be based mostly on a chemosensory rather than a mechanosensory mechanism.Victoria Burdett-Coutts, Anna Metaxas, citeulike.org

Journal of Human Genetics, Vol. 51, No. 6. (24 June 2006), pp. 505-517.Abstract  The numbers of functional olfactory receptor (OR) genes in humans and mice are about 400 and 1,000 respectively. In both humans and mice, these genes exist as genomic clusters and are scattered over almost all chromosomes. The difference in the number of genes between the two species is apparently caused by massive inactivation of OR genes in the human lineage and a substantial increase of OR genes in the mouse lineage after the human?mouse divergence. Compared with mammals, fishes have a much smaller number of OR genes. However, the OR gene family in fishes is much more divergent than that in mammals. Fishes have many different groups of genes that are absent in mammals, suggesting that the mammalian OR gene family is characterized by the loss of many group genes that existed in the ancestor of vertebrates and the subsequent expansion of specific groups of genes. Therefore, this gene family apparently changed dynamically depending on the evolutionary lineage and evolved under the birth-and-death model of evolution. Study of the evolutionary changes of two gene families for vomeronasal receptors and two gene families for taste receptors, which are structurally similar, but remotely related to OR genes, showed that some of the gene families evolved in the same fashion as the OR gene family. It appears that the number and types of genes in chemosensory receptor gene families have evolved in response to environmental needs, but they are also affected by fortuitous factors.Yoshihito Niimura, Masatoshi Nei, citeulike.org

With 9 out of 10 people eating chocolate - and most looking for a healthier option - think of what the Xocai "Healthy Chocolate Business Opportunity" could do for you. Either as an addition to your existing business or a completely new and separate business to generate extra income., delicious.com

Visual Anthropology Review, Vol. 8, No. 1. (61 March 1992), pp. 126-131.JA Gonzalez, citeulike.org

Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 21, No. 2. (1992), pp. 157-158.Suzanne Vromen, citeulike.org

Journal of Food Science, Vol. 45, No. 5. (1980), pp. 1393-1399.Four experiments were conducted to assess the effect of food color on flavor identification of noncarbonated beverages and to assess the interactive effect of food color and flavor levels on the perceived flavor intensity and hedonic quality of beverages and cake. Results showed that color masking dramatically decreased flavor identification of fruit-flavored beverages, while atypical colors induced incorrect flavor responses that were characteristically associated with the atypical color. In addition, the color level of beverages had significant effects on their overall acceptability, acceptability of color and of flavor, as well as on flavor intensity. The same results were shown with cake samples, with the exception that a significant interaction of color and flavor level was observed on overall acceptability. Correlational analysis on the subjective dimensions showed that the overall acceptability of both the beverage and cake products was more closely associated with ratings of flavor acceptability than with ratings of color acceptability. In addition, a test of the effect of colorant safety information showed that such information did not decrease any aspect of a product's acceptability.Cynthia Dubose, Armand Cardello, OWEN Maller, citeulike.org