Bitter or sweet? How taste cells decide what they want to be

Ever burn your tongue so badly that you were unable to taste your food for a few days? Luckily, a unique feature of taste cells is that they continually regenerate every 10 to 14 days. Now, a new study from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions advances understanding of how stem cells on the tongue grow into the different types of mature taste cells that detect either sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or umami.