Have you ever really thought about how you actually taste food? Like, when you cut into a particularly good piece of meat or take a big bite of a juicy apple, what all's going on in there to actually make that stuff ... well, delicious?
Your nose plays a big part in this, as you probably know, but one thing scientists and researchers have wondered is: why exactly doesn't air push what's called volatiles down to the lungs rather than to the nose? Thanks to 3D printing, researchers finally understand why.
Engineers at Penn State University manufactured "a 3D printed model of the human airway from nostril to trachea" to look at how this takes place, and it turns out that the construction of the inner bits of your face and throat specifically prefers to work this way. Like, you're built in such a way that it doesn't go down to your lungs, meaning that you get that rich, nasal-complemented taste.
Researchers had previously examined the nasal passages to try and figure out what was going on, and, according to Rui Ni, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, there's no valve or similar block keeping particles out and away from the lungs. So, a 3D-printed model of the fine inner workings was needed to really figure things out, and that's what they did.
Specifically, the back of the mouth area where these food particles typical reside is blocked off by what the Penn State researchers call an "air curtain" when you inhale, but when you exhale, all those particles get stirred up and head straight for the nose. Perhaps best of all, Ni and her group suggest taking your time with a good meal to really soak up the nose stuff. So, you know, there's actually something to not chowing down like it's the end of the world.
Source: Penn State
