WOULD you believe that red pandas are crazy for the artificial sweetener aspartame? In a study of how taste buds determine an animal’s diet, Xia Li at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and colleagues let six mammals choose between plain water and water flavoured with natural and artificial sweeteners. Surprisingly, the red panda is very fond of aspartame (, in press).
Until now, it was thought that only certain primates could taste aspartame. Intrigued, the team searched for an evolutionary explanation. But when they compared the taste-bud genes of animals that could and could not taste…
