Mammals are able to feel the taste of water. This conclusion was reached by specialists from the California Institute of Technology, a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Specialists “cut off” certain genetically modified mice from receptors, and then rinsed their mouth with water and watched which cells would react to it. It turned out that the same receptors react to water, as for the sour taste. Their discovery experts checked using optogenetics. They deduced a line of mice in which photosensitive proteins were contained in receptors sensitive to sour. Reacting to light, these receptors caused sensations similar to the taste of water.
Previously it was believed that a person is able to distinguish four tastes – sour, sweet, salty and bitter. Later, they were added with minds – “meat” taste, taste of high-protein substances. Now there is a sixth taste – the taste of water.
