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Taste Less
16 May 2018

Taste Less

One scoop or two? It’s tempting to want more when faced with something as moreish as ice cream. However in the context of obesity, ‘more’ is sometimes the only way to feel satiated after a meal. This is partly because obesity reduces a person’s ability to taste; a situation in which inflammation is implicated. Researchers have now investigated this in mice. Mice were fed a normal or high fat diet. Those on a high fat diet became obese and showed higher levels of an inflammatory substance called TNFalpha in their taste buds. Imaging taste buds (pictured, red) under a microscope revealed fewer present in obese mice (right) compared with normal mice (left) and less cell division (green). Cell division is needed to renew taste buds, which wear out over time. Persistent inflammation therefore disrupts taste bud renewal, which may explain why the ability to taste is diminished in obese people.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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