For decades, entomologists assumed that birds didn't eat monarch butterflies because they didn't like the taste. Until in 1957, one scientist decided to test that theory, using the same logic that parents of recalcitrant kids use to coax them into eating their spinach. You don't know you don't like it until you try…

Brush your teeth before downing a glass of orange juice, and you're gonna have a bad time. But why?

The human palate is arguably the weakest of the five traditional senses. This begs an important question regarding wine tasting: is it bullshit, or is it complete and utter bullshit?

Kids who hate stinky cheese and greens often grow into adults who can't get enough of them. Why do our tastes seem to transform in our teens? And can we change our tastes deliberately as adults? Here's what scientists know so far.

Ever bitten into something that you remember eating since childhood and noticing the taste is suddenly wrong? It could be your evolving taste, it could be a change in the recipe, or it could be dysgeusia.

Every human has limits. You can only run so fast, jump so high, and go for so long without water. But what about restrictions upon our five senses, those tools that we use to perceive and understand our surroundings? Here are ten limitations on human perception that have a direct impact on how we understand the world.

Most mammals — humans included — have taste receptors that can detect sweet, salty, sour, bitter and savory flavors; but the bottlenose dolphin pictured above has lost its ability to detect sugars. In fact, newly published research reveals that the dolphin is just one of many carnivores that has lost its ability to…

It all sounds a bit insane: people who like sweet foods are someone just generally nicer than people who don't. It sounds like the latest example of dubious evolutionary psychology, but it's actually about how language subtly shapes our behavior.

Q.1 Is it possible to use one's tongue as a subatomic particle detector?
Q.2 If so, would that be a good idea?

It sounds like the plot of a Troma flick, but yes, your lungs contain taste receptors. When these receptors encounter bitter compounds, they open up your airways — this discovery could radically improve the treatment of lung conditions like asthma.