Lungs Can 'Taste' Dangerous Bacteria, Researchers Say

The same taste buds we have on the tongue to detect bitterness also exist on lung muscle so that the airways can "taste" dangerous illness-causing bacteria, according to new research published Sunday that could lead to better treatments for respiratory conditions.
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The finding "suggests that nature has designed multiple pathways to prevent things from going down the wrong way," said Y.S. Prakash, an airway biologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who wasn't involved in the work.

Dr. Liggett said that because bitter taste receptors are so effective at opening the airways, he estimated that a drug that targets taste receptors could be three times as effective as current respiratory medications on the market.

His group is now screening some of these compounds for ones that are potentially safe and effective and can be used in spray form rather than a pill to activate receptors in the lung.