While genetics may not entirely explain your affinity for KFC Double Downs or lobster ice cream, there may be coding in your DNA that explains your taste for sweet foods or allergy to specific flavors. The first genetic basis for taste was discovered in 1931 when chemist Arthur Fox was working with powdered PTC (phenylthiocarbamide) and part of the substance flew into the air. One colleague felt it to have a bitter flavor, but Fox did not. They conducted an experiment with friends and family and discovered a broad range in how (and if) people regarded the PTC flavor to be bitter or tasteless. The perception of PTC flavor (similar to naturally occurring chemicals) was eventually shown to be dependent on a single gene, TAS2R38, which
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