New research from the Monell Center reveals that olfactory marker protein (OMP), a molecule found in the cells that detect odor molecules, plays a key role in regulating the speed and transmission of odor information to the brain. The findings solve a 30-year-old mystery regarding the function of OMP.
Danielle R. Reed, PhD, a world-recognized expert on the behavioral genetics of taste, has been named Associate Director of the Monell Center, effective immediately.
Scientists from the Monell Center have further characterized the identity and functionality of salt-responding taste cells on the tongue. The knowledge may lead to novel approaches to develop salt replacers or enhancers that can help reduce the sodium content of food while retaining desirable salty taste.
A new study from the Monell Center, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and collaborating institutions reports a uniquely identifiable odor signature from mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. The findings suggest that it may be possible to develop a non-invasive tool for early Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
According to new research from the Monell Center, sensitivity to sweet taste varies widely across school-aged children and is in part genetically-determined. The findings may inform efforts to reduce sugar consumption and improve nutritional health of children.
New research from the Monell Center reveals that while foods such as vanilla pudding taste sweeter following three months on a low-sugar diet, the level of sweetness most preferred in foods and beverages does not change. The findings may inform public health efforts to reduce the amount of added sugars that people consume in their diets.
New research from the Monell Center and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania suggests that physicians may someday be able to use a simple taste test to predict which surgical intervention is best suited to help a subset of chronic rhinosinusitis patients.
Cats have at least seven functional bitter taste receptors, according to a new Monell Center study. Further, a comparison of cat to related species reveals little relationship between biter receptor number and the extent to which a species consumes plants. The findings question the common hypothesis that bitter taste developed primarily to protect animals from ingesting poisonous plant compounds.
A new study from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions suggests that a single set of genes accounts for approximately 30 percent of person-to-person variance in sweet taste perception, regardless of whether the sweetener is a natural sugar or a non-caloric sugar substitute.
The Monell Center has established a formal partnership with Drexel University to promote education and research on flavor perception and food science. The agreement, which follows years of informal collaboration, leverages the respective strengths of two preeminent Philadelphia institutions.
New research from the Monell Center reveals that tumor necrosis factor (TNF), an immune system regulatory protein that promotes inflammation, also helps regulate sensitivity to bitter taste. The finding may explain taste abnormalities and decreased food intake associated with infections, autoimmune disorders, and chronic inflammatory diseases.
Two Monell Center scientists have been recognized by the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) for their contributions to the understanding of the senses of taste and smell. Robert F. Margolskee, MD, PhD, the Center’s Director and President, and Joel Mainland, PhD, Louise Slade Assistant Member, will be honored at the upcoming 2015 AChemS Annual Meeting.
The Monell Center announces a CME Program, FAQ sheet and video to promote Anosmia Awareness Day on February 27. Each was designed to increase awareness and increase the limited information available on anosmia, the loss of our sense of smell, which affects many millions worldwide.
The Monell Center has received a $1.5M NIH grant to further develop clinical methodology that can predict the path of air flow through a person’s nasal passages. The methodology may someday help physicians predict success taes for surgery to reverse nasal obstruction and associated loss of smell (anosmia).
The Monell Chemical Senses Center announces $1 million in leadership challenge gifts from Board members Richard L. Berkman, Esq., and Dwight Riskey, PhD. The gifts, made in honor of Monell Director Emeritus Gary Beauchamp, PhD, will support new faculty recruitment in the areas of nutrition, taste, and olfaction.
The Board of Directors of the Monell Chemical Senses Center has named Robert F. Margolskee, MD, PhD as the Center’s next President and Director, effective October 1, 2014. Margolskee will be the Center’s third Director since its founding in 1968, succeeding Gary K. Beauchamp, PhD, who has led Monell since July 1990.
New research from the Monell Center reveals that simply believing that an odor is potentially harmful can increase airway inflammation in asthmatics for at least 24 hours following exposure. The findings highlight the role that expectations can play in health-related outcomes.
A new study from the Monell Center reports that oral taste cells contain receptors for glucocorticoid “stress hormones”. The findings suggest glucocorticoids may act directly on taste cells to affect how they respond to sugars and other taste stimuli under conditions of stress.
New research from the Monell Chemical Senses Center reveals that women’s faces are rated as more attractive in the presence of pleasant odors. In contrast, odor pleasantness had less effect on age evaluation. The findings suggest that perfumes and scented products may, to some extent, alter how people perceive one another.
New research from the Monell Chemical Senses Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals that immunization can trigger a distinct change in body odor. This is the first demonstration of a bodily odor change due to immune activation.
Despite the popular conception of giant pandas as continually chomping on bamboo, new research from the Monell Center reveals that this highly endangered species also has a sweet tooth. Behavioral and molecular genetic studies demonstrate that the panda possesses functional sweet taste receptors and shows a strong preference for natural sweeteners.
Scientists from the Monell Center have found that children who most prefer high levels of sweet tastes also most prefer high levels of salt taste and that, in general, children prefer sweeter and saltier tastes than do adults. These preferences also relate to measures of growth and can have important implications for efforts to change children’s diets.
On Anosmia Awareness Day, the Monell Center announces “A Sense of Hope: The Monell Anosmia Project,” a three-year $1.5M fundraising campaign to support a research and advocacy program focused on anosmia, the loss of the sense of smell.
Scientists from the Monell Center have used analytical organic chemistry to identify the presence of odor-producing chemical compounds in human earwax. Further, the amounts of these compounds differ between individuals of East Asian origin and Caucasians. The findings suggest that human earwax could be an overlooked source of personal information.
New research from the Monell Center reveals humans can use the sense of smell to detect and differentiate levels of dietary fat in everyday food.
Researchers from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions have found that as much as 30 percent of the large array of human olfactory receptor differs between any two individuals. This substantial variation is in turn reflected by variability in how each person perceives odors.
New research from the Monell Chemical Senses Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals that avian influenza, which typically is asymptomatic, can be detected based on odor changes in infected birds. The results suggest a rapid and simple detection method to help prevent the spread of influenzas in avian populations.
New findings from the Monell Center reveal that a person’s sensitivity to bitter taste is shaped not only by which taste genes that person has, but also by how much messenger RNA -- the gene’s instruction guide that tells a taste cell to build a specific receptor – their cells make.
New research from the Monell Center reveals that bubbles are not necessary to experience the unique ‘bite’ of carbonated beverages, which actually comes from carbonic acid. Bubbles do, however, enhance carbonation’s bite through the light physical feel of the bubbles picked up by our sense of touch.
Bitterness presents a key obstacle to the acceptance and effectiveness of beneficial drugs by children worldwide. A new review addresses this critical problem by highlighting recent advances in the scientific understanding of bitter taste, with special attention to the sensory world of children.
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