Teens and the Bottle

Teenage romance, Pals of a boyfriend or girlfriend strongly influence an adolescent’s alcohol use, for better or worse, a new study finds.
A romantic partner’s friends tend to have different habits and pursuits than a love-struck teen and his or her own social circle, say sociologists Derek Kreager of Pennsylvania State University in University Park and Dana Haynie of Ohio State University. Teens want to be like a boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s friends to strengthen the relationship, so this new set of buddies shapes alcohol use more than do preexisting friends or even a romantic partner, Kreager and Haynie report in the October American Sociological Review.

Miracle fruit

Scientists have finally explained how a little red berry makes just about anything, from the sourest lemon to the bitterest beer, taste as sweet as honey. A protein found in the fruit tickles the tongue’s sweet-sensing machinery, its effects intensifying in the presence of acidic flavors like citrus and carbonated drinks.
Researchers and foodies alike have long known the effects of the miracle fruit . At flavor-tripping parties, guests will pop a berry then chew, chew and chew some more, letting the masticated fruit linger on the tongue. Then the sampling begins: Guinness tastes like a chocolate shake, Tabasco loses its sting and pickles their mouth-pinching tang. Lemons and limes gush with sweetness.