It's no secret that some New Englanders can be pretty salty, but this time we're talking about taste, not tempermant.
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The Wall Street Journal reports:
People’s ability to taste starts to decrease around age 60, research shows. Among the elderly, some medicine can further dull the sense, according to research published in the Nutrients journal last year.
In the future, an aging population could rely on smart utensils to improve their sensory experiences.
Nimesha Ranasinghe, an assistant professor of spatial computing at the University of Maine, received a $50,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, an independent government agency, to develop a spoon that artificially juices up the perception of saltiness.
A tiny module affixed to the handle sends faint electric currents to two electrodes set on the utensil’s back. When the tongue touches the electrodes, a harmless electric signal stimulates taste buds into perceiving salt, Dr. Ranasinghe says, regardless of whether the condiment can actually be found in a meal.
The intensity of the electric current can be adjusted via a smartphone app to reach the desired level.
Now maybe we can get to work on that "salty person" problem.
