In Science, we have been learning about Inheritance and how the information contained within our genes influences the way in which our bodies grow and develop.
In our latest Science lesson, we found out that even our ability to taste is an inherited feature. Read on to learn about Arthur Fox and the experiment that we have carried out in class.
“In 1931, a chemist named Arthur Fox was pouring some powdered chemical called PTC into a bottle. When some of the powder accidentally split and blew into the air, a colleague standing nearby complained that the dust tasted bitter. Fox tasted nothing at all. Curious how they could be tasting the same chemical differently, they both tasted it again. The results were the same Fox tasted nothing but his colleague tasted the same bitter taste.
Fox had his friends and family try the chemical then describe how it tasted. Some people tasted nothing. Some found it intensely bitter, and still others thought it tasted only slightly bitter.”
Through his enquiry, Fox discovered that all of the people who could taste the chemical PTC had at least one parent who could also taste it.
Fox deduced that being able to taste PTC was an inherited this feature.
We decided to test this ourselves and here ere are our results…
