Scientists have built something nature perfected millions of years ago—a tongue that can taste and remember flavors. The world’s first artificial tongue works entirely in liquid, processing information the way your own taste buds and brain do.
The breakthrough, from the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in China and published in PNAS, uses graphene oxide membranes—ultra-thin carbon sheets with microscopic channels that slow the movement of ions. That slowdown is critical, extending the tongue’s “memory” of a flavor from milliseconds to about 140 seconds. Like tasting a sip of wine versus rolling it around on your tongue.
In lab tests, the tongue identified sweet, sour, salty, and bitter flavors with 72.5% to 87.5% accuracy. For complex drinks like coffee or Coca-Cola, it reached 96%, thanks to the richer chemical patterns those liquids carry. “Our devices can work in liquid and can sense their environment and process information—just like our nervous system does,” said Professor Yong Yan, co-author of the study, to Live Science.
World’s First Artificial Tongue Tastes And Learns Like A Real Human Organ
Most electronic tasting systems rely on an external computer to process the data. This one handles its sensing and much of its processing inside the liquid itself, edging closer to neuromorphic computing—technology that mimics the brain’s ability to learn and adapt while immersed in its environment.
The potential uses reach far beyond brewing a flawless espresso. It could flag food safety hazards before they leave a factory, perform real-time quality checks in beverage production, or detect illness by spotting chemical changes in saliva. In remote areas, it might track water quality without bulky lab equipment. For people who’ve lost their sense of taste after a stroke or nerve injury, it could help restore a connection to flavor.
The device still faces challenges. It’s bulky, needs more sensitivity, and draws significant power. Scaling production and integrating it into everyday tech will take work. Still, Yan believes it could move from lab prototype to real-world tool within a decade.
A machine that learns through taste blends biology, AI, and chemistry in a way that could change how we study and experience flavor. The future is going to be wild.
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