Imagine being able to sample any food you wanted, guilt-free. Such is the premise of a virtual taste simulator currently being developed by Nimesha Ranasinghe at the National University of Singapore. It uses a silver electrode to simulate the "four well-known major taste components," says Paul Marks at NewScientist — salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. The device can be used to fool the taste receptors and simulate the tang of soda or the pleasantly bitter aftertaste of fine chocolate. Researchers foresee the technology's use in games and apps, as well as in health care, particularly for weight loss.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
'Orwellian nightmare’: passport database to be used to catch thievesTalking Point Policing minister wants to use personal data to crack down on shoplifting crime wave
-
Can HS2 get back on track?
Today's Big Question West Midlands mayor offers business solution to keep northern leg but final decision may rest with Labour
-
'A purported ban on phones in schools is a lazy sleight of hand'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
