Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS)
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Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS)
@achems.bsky.social
The Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) is an international association that advances understanding of the senses of taste and smell.
🌶️ It's International Hot and Spicy Food Day!🌶️
Spicy food doesn't burn: it tricks your nerves. Capsaicin activates TRPV1 receptors, normally triggered by heat, fooling your brain into feeling fire. A spicy chemical illusion! #HotAndSpicyFoodDay!! #AChemS
January 16, 2026 at 2:49 PM
⏰ Last chance! Today is the final day to submit your #AChemS2026 abstract!

Submit Now and Join us in St. Pete, Florida: achems.org/2026/abst...
January 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM
APPLY NOW for an #AChemS2026 Abstract or Travel Fellowship Award! We're offering several awards for Postdocs, Graduate Students, and Undergraduates. Deadline: January 12, 2026.

Apply today: achems.org/web/award...
January 9, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Don't miss out! Join us for the next Career Networking Seminar on January 14th from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET. Sign up now: achems.org/web/semin...
January 7, 2026 at 3:02 PM
THE ACHEMS ANNUAL MEETING is the preeminent international gathering of chemoreception scientists. Submit an abstract and present your research at #AChemS2026. achems.org/2026/abst...
December 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM
⌛️Don't wait—submit your abstract today! The #AChemS2026 deadline is fast approaching.
achems.org/2026/
December 11, 2025 at 7:56 PM
It's National Cake Day! Most of cake's "flavor" isn't taste, it's smell. As you chew, aroma compounds travel from your mouth up through your nasal cavity to olfactory receptors. This retronasal olfaction is why cake tastes bland when you have a cold!
#NationalCakeDay!! #AChemS
November 26, 2025 at 1:45 PM
It's National Espresso Day! Hot or iced? Caffeine activates bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs), but temperature matters. Cold temps modulate bitterness perception, making iced espresso taste smoother than hot. What's your preference?
#NationalEspressoDay!! #AChemS
November 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM
🎉 The #AChemS2026 Preliminary Program is now LIVE!

Get a sneak peek at what's in store and start planning your trip to St. Pete Beach!

Check out the full details here: achems.org/2026/
#AChemS2026 #ChemicalSciences
November 13, 2025 at 3:25 PM
It's National Nachos Day! The perfect nacho hits all your senses at once: salty cheese taste, spicy jalapeño aroma, crispy crunch sound, and varied textures. Your brain integrates these signals into one unified experience: nacho perfection.
#NationalNachosDay!! #AChemS
November 6, 2025 at 8:20 PM
🎃 The Headless Horseman couldn't smell you… but his horse could. Horses detect human emotions—including fear—through body odor. They can distinguish fear sweat from joy sweat. No head? No problem. The horse still hunts you down.

#Halloween!! #AChemS
October 31, 2025 at 2:15 PM
#AChemS2026 ABSTRACT SUBMISSION IS OPEN! Submit an abstract and present your research at the preeminent international chemosensory meeting achems.org/2026/

Submission Deadline Date: January 12, 2026
October 23, 2025 at 8:59 PM
It's World Bread Day! 🥖
Why does plain bread taste sweet the longer you chew? Thank your saliva. Enzymes like amylase break starch into maltose and other sugars—so your taste perception can change over the course of a single bite.

#WorldBreadDay!! #AChemS
October 16, 2025 at 2:15 PM
It's National Dessert Day! 🍰
Why does that first bite of cake taste intense, but by the last, you barely notice the sweetness? Sensory adaptation—your taste receptors adjust to constant stimulation, dulling perception bite by bite.

#NationalDessertDay!! #AChemS
October 14, 2025 at 2:15 PM
It's National Pizza and Beer Day!🍕🍻
Why do they pair so perfectly? Beer's carbonation lifts fats and oils from cheese, while its bitterness balances pizza's saltiness and umami—creating the perfect flavor reset.

#NationalPizzaAndBeerDay!! #AChemS
October 9, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Our sense of smell is not as bad as you may think! Did you know that humans can ‘follow their nose’, just like dogs can, e.g. to track their prey?
www.nature.com/artic...

If you want to contribute to our fundraiser, please follow this link www.gofundme.com/f/s....
Mechanisms of scent-tracking in humans
Nature Neuroscience - Mechanisms of scent-tracking in humans
www.nature.com
September 27, 2025 at 2:00 PM
🥞 It’s National Pancake Day! 🥞

From crispy edges to fluffy centers, pancakes hit every note—texture, taste, and pure buttery bliss. Who knew breakfast could be such a full-on sensory masterpiece?
#NationalPancakeDay!! #AChemS
September 26, 2025 at 2:15 PM
The sense of smell is a very powerful trigger for memories. A familiar smell can take you back to childhood or remind you of a past love. Smell taps directly into the brain's memory centers and is the bearer of our most vivid recollections!
The proust effect: Scents, food, and nostalgia
Autobiographical memories activated by the senses, particularly smell and taste, can be among the most potent and influential, an experience labelled …
www.sciencedirect.com
September 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Did you know that expectation of how a food should taste influences what you think it tastes like? Our expectations, drawn from previous experiences, are very important in enhancing or diminishing how we perceive the foods and beverages we eat and drink
NYAS Publications
Our perception of the sensory world is constantly modulated by the environment surrounding us and by our psychological state; each encounter with the same stimulus can in fact evoke very different pe...
nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 24, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Have you ever eaten or drunk something that made your stomach sick and now can't stand its taste? That's conditioned taste aversion—an evolutionary mechanism that can save us from harmful food after just one mistaken bite.
The Functional and Neurobiological Properties of Bad Taste | Physiological Reviews | American Physiological Society
The gustatory system serves as a critical line of defense against ingesting harmful substances. Technological advances have fostered the characterization of peripheral receptors and have created opportunities for more selective manipulations of the nervous system, yet the neurobiological mechanisms underlying taste-based avoidance and aversion remain poorly understood. One conceptual obstacle stems from a lack of recognition that taste signals subserve several behavioral and physiological functions which likely engage partially segregated neural circuits. Moreover, although the gustatory system evolved to respond expediently to broad classes of biologically relevant chemicals, innate repertoires are often not in register with the actual consequences of a food. The mammalian brain exhibits tremendous flexibility; responses to taste can be modified in a specific manner according to bodily needs and the learned consequences of ingestion. Therefore, experimental strategies that distinguish between the functional properties of various taste-guided behaviors and link them to specific neural circuits need to be applied. Given the close relationship between the gustatory and visceroceptive systems, a full reckoning of the neural architecture of bad taste requires an understanding of how these respective sensory signals are integrated in the brain.
journals.physiology.org
September 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Did you know that olfactory sensory neurons of your nose and taste cells of your mouth regenerate during life, so that your sense of smell and taste remains fresh and sharp? journals.biologists....
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September 22, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Did you know that babies and rodents pull funny faces when they taste something sour or bitter? It’s an instinct to not eat bad or harmful foods.
www.livescience.com/...

If you want to contribute to our fundraiser, please follow this link www.gofundme.com/f/s....
Why Do People Scrunch Up Their Faces After Tasting Something Sour?
Here's why people make that "sour" face.
www.livescience.com
September 21, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Did you know that as we age, taste and smell tend to diminish, which can negatively affect everything from eating habits to personal safety. Understanding the changes that occur is key to improving the health and quality of life for older adults.
www.nia.nih.gov/heal...

September 20, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Congratulations AChemS members Dr. Julie Mennella and Dr. Gary Beauchamp on achieving the the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize in Pediatrics.
monell.org/monell-cente...
Monell Center Researchers Received a 2025 Ig Nobel Prize for their Landmark Flavor Study - Monell Chemical Senses Center
Their “laugh, then think” work found that garlic flavors transmit to human milk, and infants savored that flavor during breastfeeding
monell.org
September 19, 2025 at 6:52 PM