It’s official. Mice have built-in protein-based fat sensors on their tongues. When researchers in France “turned off” a particular gene, the mice stopped craving fat. The results of the study, led by Phillippe Besnard of the Physiologie de la Nutrition ENSBANA, in Dijon, France, has some speculating that this same sensor exists in humans. Until now there were two schools of thought on why humans liked fatty foods: because they made the digestive system feel full, and because they have an appealing “mouth feel” during consumption. This study points to a built-in fondness for fattening foods, something that could potentially be modified for those seeking to control their weight.

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