Article: Tasting bitterness is in your genes

Food doesn’t taste the same to everyone. We explore one type of genetic variation between people that means it’s easier for some of us than others to eat our greens. This genetic variation is in a receptor that registers bitterness: people with two copies of a variant in the receptor gene find certain chemicals unbearable, including the man-made sulphur-containing compound phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). Part of the Wellcome Trust's Big Picture: Food and Diet (www.wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture/food)