Tasty Test

A team of researchers from the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research have stated that taste buds in ‘fruit flies’ play a significant role in its lifespan. Scientists also reported that suppressing an animal’s ability to taste food, regardless of how much it eats, can increase or decrease its lifespan.

In case of fruit flies, loss of taste may cause physiological changes, so that the body can adapt to the perception that it is not getting adequate nutrients. Another important find was in the case of flies wherein flies who couldn’t taste water lived 43% longer than other flies since their bodies attempted to compensate for a perceived water shortage by storing more fats which produced water internally.

The studies point to the fact that sensory perception may influence health-related characteristics in humans such as athletic performance, type II Diabetes and ageing. Researchers plan to further study these characteristics in order to apply these techniques to improve health conditions among humans.