News by Subject Medicine & Health

Cheese fondue is an icon of Swiss cuisine and a dinner party staple. While it may seem like a simple dish, getting the texture right can be a challenge for optimal mouthfeel, dipping and flavor release. This requires the perfect balance of cheese, wine and starch. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Omega reveal how to use these key ingredients to produce deliciously melted fondue.

A subset of neurons in the hippocampus respond to both place and taste, according to research in male rats published in JNeurosci. The study shows how animals may remember and find their way back to locations where they previously found nourishment.

Olives are staples of the Mediterranean diet, which has been linked to a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions. However, freshly picked olives are very bitter and require curing or processing to make them palatable, using lots of water and, sometimes, harsh chemicals. Now, researchers have found a more environmentally friendly way to remove bitter phenolic compounds from olives. They report their results in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

A Michigan State University study is the first to show an association between unusually high pesticide exposure and poor sense of smell among aging farmers.

Scientists have used a combination of mathematical modeling, electrophysiology, and computer simulations to explain how cells communicate effectively in highly constricted spaces such as the olfactory cilia, where odor detection takes place. The findings will inform future studies of cellular signaling and communication in the olfactory system and also in other confined spaces of the nervous system.

We know a good meal can stimulate the release of the feel-good hormone dopamine, and now a study in humans from the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Germany suggests that dopamine release in the brain occurs at two different times: at the time the food is first ingested and another once the food reaches the stomach. The work appears December 27 in the journal Cell Metabolism.