<p>Dr. Charles Zuker is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and of Neuroscience at Columbia University and a Principal Investigator at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute. Dr. Zuker explains why our sense of taste is so evolutionarily critical to our survival; how taste was fundamentally misunderstood until about 20 years ago; how our stomachs tell our brains to go for real sugar instead of artificial sweeteners; why the Zuckerman Institute and the Jerome L. Greene Science Center is such a fabulous place to study neuroscience; and why the Institute has artists-in-residence working alongside the scientists. Also, the video of controlling thirst in mice using light that is referenced in the podcast can be found here: <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z51OGBaWko'>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z51OGBaWko</a></p>
<p>Note: the Zuckerman Institute’s air filtration system is top notch, but caused a hum in the background that we couldn’t edit out.</p>

Alexander Gaeta

The Columbia Invents podcast by Columbia Technology Ventures is a series of interviews with faculty researchers at Columbia University. Hosted by Orin Herskowitz, Executive Director of Columbia Technology Ventures, the series explores breakthrough innovations being developed in Columbia’s scientific laboratories, the process of spinning these technologies out of the lab and into the market via industry or startups, and the challenges early stage technologies must overcome in order to realize their full potential.