Researchers Develop Artificial Tongue

Photo: Kenneth Suslick

Chemists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a testing implement that mimics the way human taste buds detect sweetness:

A computer compares scans of the array of dots before and after the paper is wetted with an eyedropper full of liquid.

After running dozens of samples of mystery artificial sweeteners dissolved in water or tea, the research team reported that their tongue could pick out the sweetener used with with 100 percent accuracy.

Potential applications include detecting noxious gases, harmful bacteria, and providing early warnings for lung cancer (which Miss C mentioned yesterday).

Link via Boing Boing