A team of scientists revealed that human beings can taste the CO2 in fizzy drinks.
Jayaram Chadrashekar at the University of California and a team of workers found that mammals could taste carbon dioxide – first testing their theory on mice.
They bred mice lacking receptor cells for specific tastes and then discovered that an enzyme present on the surface of sour sensing cells on the tongue called carbonic anhydrase enzyme (Car4) is responsible for the ability to sense carbon dioxide.
Why? One of the researchers thinks that the main function of the enzyme is to keep the pH balance and health of the taste buds in good shape.
High altitude climbers take carbonic anydrase inhibitors to help prevent mountain sickness and if they crack a bottle of bubbly when they reach the peak have noticed that the champers is tasteless.
