The ability to perceive the bitter taste is ... protein. To test this complicated mechanism, the researchers exposed human skin cells in a petri dish to bitter compounds like PTC and saccharin.

Asking students to taste PTC-soaked paper is a classic classroom exercise to demonstrate a simple inherited trait. Some grimace, others look puzzled. "PTC perception is arguably one of the most ...

Researchers from Okayama University of Science discovered taste receptors (TAS2Rs ... cells grown in lab were given phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), the chemical compound that tastes bitter.