Vehicle age and driver assistance technologies in fatal crashes involving teen and middle-aged drivers

JAMA Network Open

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About The Study: 

The findings of this study suggest that older vehicles and those with fewer driver assistance technologies are associated with increased risk of driver death in fatal crashes; thus, teens should drive the safest vehicles available, not older family cars. The findings underscore the urgent need to ensure teens drive safer vehicles to protect their lives.

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jingzhen Yang, PhD, MPH, email ginger.yang@nationwidechildrens.org.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.8942)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is an online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication. 

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Journal

JAMA Network Open

Study finds teens driving older vehicles have increased risk for fatal crashes

Nationwide Children's Hospital

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(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. Newer vehicles and driver assistance technologies show promise in reducing crashes and injury severities.  Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital reviewed national fatal crash data (2016-2021) and examined the vehicle age and driver assistance technologies of vehicles driven by teen and middle-aged drivers, and their associations with driver deaths during fatal crashes. 

In a study published today in JAMA Network Open, researchers found that driving vehicles 6-15 years old had a 19% greater risk of driver death in fatal crashes, and driving vehicles older than 15 years had a 31% greater risk, both compared to driving vehicles 5 years old or newer, regardless of driver age. Additionally, each driver assistance technology already present in vehicles was associated with a  6% reduction in the risk of driver death in fatal crashes. 

“Because every family wants their teen to arrive anywhere safely, teen driver fatalities are a serious public health concern,” said Jingzhen Ginger Yang, PhD, MPH, lead author of the study and principal investigator in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Abigail Wexner Research  Institute at Nationwide Children’s. “Given teen drivers’ high crash rates compared to other age  groups and their increasing involvement in fatal crashes, it is crucial for teen drivers to operate the  safest vehicles available.” 

The study found that teen drivers (15-18 years) were more likely than middle-aged drivers (31-55  years) to drive vehicles older than 15 years and vehicles with fewer driver assistance technologies at the time of fatal crashes. Older vehicles and vehicles with fewer driver assistance technologies were associated with a higher risk of death for drivers involved in fatal crashes, regardless of driver age. 

“Our findings, along with those from other studies, underscore the importance of safe vehicle strategies, education for families and ensuring teens drive safer cars whenever possible,” said Fangda  Zhang, PhD, research scientist in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide  Children's and co-lead author of the study. “Parents commonly pass their old vehicles to their teens who are still learning basic driving skills. While it is an exciting milestone for families with new  drivers, this practice increases teens’ vulnerability to vehicle malfunctions, making their driving less  safe.” 

Because parents and caregivers often control what vehicles their teens drive, their choices significantly impact the driving safety of their teens and other road users. Families should be advised to prioritize safety features when choosing the first car for teens, ensuring it is newer and safer,  given the increased involvement of teen drivers in motor vehicle crashes and motor vehicle crash-related fatalities.

Based on the study findings, study authors propose several recommendations:

• Vehicle Safety: Teens should drive the safest vehicles available. 
  • Pediatricians and other health care providers should advise parents to prioritize safety features when choosing the first car for their teens and avoid vehicles older than 15 years, especially during the initial months of unsupervised driving, which is the highest crash risk period for teen drivers.  
  • Parents can refer to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for a list of affordable, safe vehicles for teens. If a newer vehicle is not an option, more frequent maintenance should be encouraged to improve the vehicle’s safety.  
• Newer Technologies: Pediatricians and other health care providers should educate families about the benefits of newer vehicle technologies, such as crash avoidance features, lane assistance technology, and teen-specific technologies, which can significantly reduce crashes and related injuries. Families should choose vehicles with more driver assistance technologies for teens whenever possible.  
• Safe Driving Habits: Pediatricians and other health care providers should address other aspects of teen driving safety beyond vehicle selection. They should educate parents and teens about the danger of risky driving behaviors and promote safe driving habits, such as seat belt use, safe nighttime driving, limiting teen passengers, avoiding distractions and following state Graduated Driver Licensing requirements. 

Data for this study were obtained from Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), a comprehensive crash database widely recognized in traffic safety research for its detailed information on drivers,  vehicles, and crash environments involved in US fatal crashes. 

The Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital works globally to reduce injury-related pediatric death and disabilities. With innovative research at its core, CIRP works to continually improve the scientific understanding of the epidemiology, biomechanics, prevention, acute treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries. CIRP serves as a pioneer by translating cutting edge injury research into education, policy,  and advances in clinical care. For related injury prevention materials or to learn more about CIRP,  visit www.injurycenter.org. Follow CIRP on IG @CIRPatNCH. 

About The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-25 list of “Best Children’s  Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s faculty train the next generation of pediatricians, scientists and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research  Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health funded free-standing pediatric research facilities in the U.S., supporting basic, clinical, translational,  behavioral and population health research. The AWRI is comprised of multidisciplinary Centers of  Emphasis paired with advanced infrastructure supporting capabilities such as technology commercialization for discoveries; gene- and cell-based therapies; and genome sequencing and analysis. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org/Research. 

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Journal

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.8942 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Vehicle Age and Driver Assistance Technologies in Fatal Crashes Involving Teen and Middle-Aged Drivers

Article Publication Date

7-May-2025

 

Reporting and representation of race and ethnicity in clinical trials of pharmacotherapy for mental disorders

JAMA Psychiatry

About The Study: 

The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that differences in reporting race and ethnicity across geographic locations and underrepresentation of certain racial and ethnic groups in U.S.-based randomized clinical trials highlight the need for international guidelines to ensure equitable recruitment and reporting in clinical trials. 

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Alessio Bellato, PhD, email a.bellato@soton.ac.uk.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.0666)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article 

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Journal

JAMA Psychiatry

Race and ethnicity often not reported in trials of medications for mental health conditions

Lack of data could impact the generalisability of findings

University of Southampton

A new study led by the University of Southampton has found that the race and ethnicity of participants in clinical trials of medications for mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions often go unrecorded.

In the first comprehensive quantitative review of its kind, an international team of researchers found that just four in ten clinical trials (39%) report the race or ethnicity of the participants involved.

The research was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and published today [Wednesday 7 May] in JAMA Psychiatry. It found that some groups such as Hispanic and Asian people as well as Black children were underrepresented in US-based clinical trials reporting race and ethnicity.

The findings mean scientists don’t know as much as they could about potential differences in how people from different racial or ethnic backgrounds might respond to or tolerate various treatments.

The study, led by Dr Alesso Bellato from the University of Southampton.

Dr Alessio Bellato said: “To tailor treatments for mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions to individual patients, it’s important to understand variations in how different racial or ethnic groups respond to and tolerate medications.”

“The lack of consistent and comprehensive data collection and reporting poses significant challenges for developing and testing inclusive, effective and equitable treatments for people with mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions worldwide.”

Researchers analysed over 1,600 randomised controlled trials of medications for a wide range of mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions, including mood disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, autism and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

“It is perhaps unsurprising that most of the trials included in our review (with over 375,000 participants) were conducted in Europe and the United States. Greater efforts are needed to conduct trials in other regions, particularly Central and South America, and Africa,” says Dr Bellato.

The researchers also found that, since 1980, reporting of race and ethnicity had increased each year in the USA, where most studies took place. However, it remained unchanged or even declined in other parts of the world.

NIHR Research Professor Samuele Cortese, a senior author from the University of Southampton says: “Our findings call for an international set of guidelines to provide more comprehensive reporting on race and ethnicity in scientific publications and promote equitable recruitment in clinical trials. This will ensure research better reflects and serves diverse populations globally, mitigates biases and improves the generalisability of study findings.”

The paper Reporting and representation of race/ethnicity in 1683 RCTs of pharmacotherapy for mental disorders: a meta-analysis is published in JAMA Psychiatry and is available online.

Ends

Contact

Steve Williams, Media Manager, University of Southampton, press@soton.ac.uk or 023 8059 3212.

Notes for editors

1. The paper Reporting and representation of race/ethnicity in 1683 RCTs of pharmacotherapy for mental disorders: a meta-analysis is published in JAMA Psychiatry. An advanced copy of the paper is available upon request.
2. For interviews with Dr Alessio Bellato and Prof Samuele Cortese please contact Steve Williams, Media Manager, University of Southampton press@soton.ac.uk or 023 8059 3212.

Additional information

The University of Southampton drives original thinking, turns knowledge into action and impact, and creates solutions to the world’s challenges. We are among the top 100 institutions globally (QS World University Rankings 2025). Our academics are leaders in their fields, forging links with high-profile international businesses and organisations, and inspiring a 22,000-strong community of exceptional students, from over 135 countries worldwide. Through our high-quality education, the University helps students on a journey of discovery to realise their potential and join our global network of over 200,000 alumni. www.southampton.ac.uk

www.southampton.ac.uk/news/contact-press-team.page

Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/UoSMedia

About NIHR

The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. 

We do this by:

• funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care
• investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services
• partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research
• attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges
• collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system
• funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries
• NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. 

Our work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK international development funding from the UK government.

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Journal

JAMA Psychiatry

DOI

10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.0666 

Method of Research

Systematic review

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Reporting and Representation of Race and Ethnicity in Clinical Trials of Pharmacotherapy for Mental Disorders

Article Publication Date

7-May-2025

COI Statement

Dr. Bellato declares honoraria as Joint Editor of JCPP Advances. Prof. Correll has been a consultant and/or advisor to or has received honoraria from: AbbVie, Alkermes, Allergan, Angelini, Aristo, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Cardio Diagnostics, Cerevel, CNX Therapeutics, Compass Pathways, Darnitsa, Delpor, Denovo, Eli Lilly, Gedeon Richter, Hikma, Holmusk, IntraCellular Therapies, Jamjoom Pharma, Janssen/J&J, Karuna, LB Pharma, Lundbeck, MedInCell, MedLink, Merck, Mindpax, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, Maplight, Mylan, Neumora Therapeutics, Neurocrine, Neurelis, Newron, Noven, Novo Nordisk, Otsuka, PPD Biotech, Recordati, Relmada, Reviva, Rovi, Saladax, Sanofi, Seqirus, Servier, Sumitomo Pharma America, Sunovion, Sun Pharma, Supernus, Tabuk, Takeda, Teva, Terran, Tolmar, Vertex, Viatris and Xenon Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Correll provided expert testimony for Janssen, Lundbeck and Otsuka; he served on a Data Safety Monitoring Board for Compass Pathways, IntraCellular Therapies, Relmada, Reviva, Rovi; he has received grant support from Boehringer-Ingelheim, Janssen and Takeda; he received royalties from UpToDate and is also a stock option holder of Cardio Diagnostics, Kuleon Biosciences, LB Pharma, Medlink, Mindpax, Quantic, and Terran. Prof. Cortese, NIHR Research Professor (NIHR303122), is funded by the NIHR for this research project. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, NHS or the UK Department of Health and Social Care. Prof. Cortese is also supported by NIHR grants NIHR203684, NIHR203035, NIHR130077, NIHR128472, RP-PG-0618-20003 and by grant 101095568-HORIZONHLTH- 2022-DISEASE-07-03 from the European Research Executive Agency. Prof. Cortese has declared reimbursement for travel and accommodation expenses from the Association for Child and Adolescent Central Health (ACAMH) in relation to lectures delivered for ACAMH, the Canadian AADHD Alliance Resource, the British Association of Psychopharmacology, and from Healthcare Convention for educational activity on ADHD, and has received honoraria from Medice. Prof. Fusar-Poli has received grant support from Lundbeck and honoraria fees from Angelini, Menarini, and Lundbeck outside the current work. Dr. Raduà received CME honoraria from Inspira Networks for a machine learning course promoted by Adamed (outside the submitted work); his work is supported by the CERCA Program / Generalitat de Catalunya and Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Economia I Coneixement (2021 SGR 01128). Dr. Solmi received honoraria/has been a consultant for Angelini, AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Lundbeck, Otsuka. All other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

 

Clinical and neuropathological evaluations of the New Brunswick neurological syndrome of unknown cause

JAMA Neurology

About The Study: There was no evidence supporting a diagnosis of neurological syndrome of unknown cause (NSUC) in this cohort. The data inclusive of independent examinations and neuropathology strongly supported the presence of several neurodegenerative and non-neurodegenerative conditions. Unfounded concerns that a potentially fatal mystery disease, possibly induced by an environmental toxin, is causing the patients’ neurological symptoms has been amplified in traditional and social media. Second, independent clinical evaluations are needed for any patient given a diagnosis of NSUC.

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Anthony E. Lang, MD, email anthony.lang@uhn.ca.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.1718)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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Journal

JAMA Neurology

 

Neuroscientists pinpoint where (and how) brain circuits are reshaped as we learn new movements

Discovery of physical modifications across brain regions holds important clues for possible new therapies for brain disorders

University of California - San Diego

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image: 

Neuronal activity traces reveal how brain circuits evolve as mice learn a motor task. Left: example field of view recorded during behavior; each color marks a different neuron. Right: activity traces from selected neurons.

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Credit: Komiyama Lab, UC San Diego

A landmark study published by scientists at the University of California San Diego is redefining science’s understanding of the way learning takes place. The findings, published in the journal Nature and supported by the National Institutes of Health and U.S. National Science Foundation, provide novel insights on how brain wiring changes during learning periods, offering a path to new therapies and technologies that aid neurological disorders.

For many years, neuroscientists have isolated the brain’s primary motor cortex (M1), an area in the frontal lobe region, as a hub for sending out signals related to complex movements during episodes of learning. More recently, the motor thalamus, located in the center of the brain, has been implicated as an area that influences M1 during motor learning functions.

But even with such advancements, evidence was lacking on how this learning process unfolds, mainly due to the complex nature of monitoring the interactions of cells across brain areas.

A research team led by Professor Takaki Komiyama’s laboratory used powerful neurobiological research techniques to describe these mechanisms in mice for the first time. Using high-tech imaging and a novel data analysis method, the researchers identified the thalamocortical pathway, a communication bridge between the thalamus and the cortex, as the key area that is modified during learning.

Beyond identifying the main pathway, the researchers found that links between regions physically change during learning. Motor learning does much more than adjust activity levels, it sculpts the circuit’s wiring, refining the conversation between the thalamus and cortex at a cellular level.

“Our findings show that learning goes beyond local changes — it reshapes the communication between brain regions, making it faster, stronger and more precise,” said Assaf Ramot, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral scholar in the Komiyama Lab. “Learning doesn’t just change what the brain does — it changes how the brain is wired to do it.”

The study, during which mice learned specific movements, revealed that learning causes a focused reorganization of the thalamus and cortex interaction. During times of learning, the thalamus was found to activate M1 neurons to encode the learned movement and to halt the activation of neurons not involved with the movement being learned.

“During learning, these parallel and precise changes are generated by the thalamus activating a specific subset of M1 neurons, which then activate other M1 neurons to generate a learned activity pattern,” said Komiyama, a professor in the Departments of Neurobiology (School of Biological Sciences) and Neurosciences (School of Medicine), with appointments in the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute (School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences) and Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind.

To bring the activity of specific neurons into focus — a key insight of the study — the researchers developed a novel analytical method called ShaReD (Shared Representation Discovery) with Neurobiology Assistant Professor Marcus Benna and graduate student Felix Taschbach, study coauthors.

According to Taschbach, who spearheaded development of the data analysis procedure, identifying behaviors that are commonly encoded across different subjects presents a significant challenge because behaviors and their neural representations can vary substantially between animals. To address this issue, the researchers developed ShaReD, which identifies a single shared behavioral representation that correlates with neural activity across different subjects, allowing them to map subtle behavioral features to the activity of different neurons in each animal.

Existing methods typically enforce artificial alignment to reduce individual variability — similar to requiring everyone to follow exactly the same route to a destination. In contrast, ShaReD functions more like identifying which landmarks consistently help travelers navigate, regardless of their specific route choices. The ShaReD method was critical to the study’s findings.

“This new method allows us to combine data from multiple experiments to make detailed discoveries that would not have been possible using only the limited number of relevant neurons recorded in an individual brain,” said Benna, a computational neuroscientist and co-corresponding author of this study.

The new study is the second recently led by the Komiyama lab that illuminates how our brains learn. In April, William Wright, Nathan Hedrick and Komiyama published a study in Science that describes the multiple rules that neurons follow during episodes of learning, with synapses in different regions following different rules.

With the Nature study’s findings, the researchers further science’s understanding of the learning process with a new comprehensive model of how the neural circuits underlying learned movements emerge during learning. The new information also offers hope for those who suffer from neurological disorders.

“The study shows that learning isn’t just repetition,” said Ramot. “It’s about your brain literally rewiring itself in a targeted way. Whether you’re learning a new skill, recovering from a stroke or using a neuroprosthetic, understanding how brain regions reorganize their communication helps us design better therapies and technologies that work with the brain’s natural learning mechanisms.”

The paper is dedicated to the memory of An Wu, an assistant project scientist in Komiyama’s lab who tragically died in a 2023 Montreal building fire. She is remembered as a brilliant neuroscientist who elevated the many lives she touched.

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Journal

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-025-08962-8 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Motor learning refines thalamic influence on motor cortex

Article Publication Date

7-May-2025

 

Scientists map tongue’s sweet sensor, may lead to new ways to curb sugar cravings

Discovery reveals the workings of the key molecule responsible for our insatiable attraction to sugar.

The Zuckerman Institute at Columbia University

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video: 

Cryo-EM map of the human sweet taste receptor (blue and green) changing shape as it binds a molecule that tastes sweet (red and green).

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Credit: J. Zhang et al.

NEW YORK — Our attraction to sugar has grown to an unhealthy level. The average person in the United States now consumes more than 100 pounds of the sweet stuff every year, up from 18 pounds in 1800.

With new research published May 7, in Cell, Columbia University scientists have taken a major step toward dealing with this public health crisis. For the first time, they have mapped the 3-D structure of the human sweet taste receptor, the molecular machine that allows us to taste sweet things. This could lead to the discovery of new regulators of the receptor that would significantly alter our attraction to and appetite for sugar.

"The leading role that sugar plays in obesity cannot be overlooked," said study co-first author Juen Zhang, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Charles Zuker, PhD, at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute and at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. “The artificial sweeteners that we use today to replace sugar just don’t meaningfully change our desire for sugar. Now that we know what the receptor looks like, we might be able to design something better.”

The sweet receptors on our tongue can detect a large number of different chemicals that taste sweet, from common table sugar (also known as sucrose) to antimicrobial enzymes in chicken eggs. Unlike other receptors—for bitter, sour, or other tastes—our sweet sensors evolved to not be very sensitive. This helps us focus on sugar-rich foods for energy, and drives a need for a lot of sweets to satisfy our sweet tooth.

Determining the structure of the human sweet receptor is key to comprehending how it helps us detect sweet taste, fundamentally advancing our understanding of taste perception. More than 20 years ago, Dr. Zuker and his colleagues uncovered the genes behind the mammalian sweet taste receptor. This landmark work revealed its chemical formula, but until now no one knew its precise shape, much like how knowing a cake's recipe will not tell you what the pastry will look like when finished.

Without this knowledge, understanding the molecular basis of sweet detection to rationally design ways to regulate the function of this essential receptor has been a challenge, said Dr. Zuker, in whose laboratory this new work was also carried out.

 "All the artificial sweeteners that we use today were either discovered by accident or based on known sweet-tasting molecules," said study co-author Brian Wang, a research assistant in the Zuker lab. "As a result, most artificial sweeteners have drawbacks.”

The new work maps the structure of the human sweet taste receptor in unprecedented detail, to a resolution as good as 2.8 angstroms. In comparison, the smallest atom, hydrogen, is slightly more than 1 angstrom wide.

It took the researchers innovative approaches and about three years to map the human sweet taste receptor's structure, in large part because it proved difficult to grow this protein on cells in lab dishes. 

“Just getting the purified protein we needed to map the structure took more than 150 different preparations over the course of three years," said study co-first author Zhengyuan Lu, a doctoral student at the Zuker lab. 

The scientists then used cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to analyze the human sweet taste receptor. This technique fires beams of electrons at molecules that have been frozen in solution, helping researchers capture snapshots of those molecules from different perspectives, from which they can reconstruct their three-dimensional structures at the atomic level.

Of particular importance, cryo-EM revealed the receptor’s binding pocket: the cavity where sweet things stick and trigger the set of reactions that drive our strong appetite for sweets.

"Defining the binding pocket of this receptor very accurately is absolutely vital to understanding its function," said study co-author Anthony Fitzpatrick, PhD, a principal investigator at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute. “By knowing its exact shape, we can see why sweeteners attach to it, and how to make or find better molecules that activate the receptor or regulate its function,” added Dr. Fitzpatrick, who is also an assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The human sweet taste receptor consists of two main halves. One of these, named TAS1R2, possesses the binding pocket, a component resembling a Venus flytrap. Knowing the structure of this part may also help us understand why people differ in how sensitive they are to sweets.

The scientists mapped the receptor's structure as it bound to two of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners, aspartame and sucralose. These are, respectively, 200 and 600 times sweeter than sucrose.

The researchers then systematically altered tiny parts of the receptor. This helped shed light on the role each of these parts play in binding onto the sweeteners, said study co-author Ruihuan Yu, a doctoral student at the Zuker lab. 

"We're trying to move our understanding of science forward to be able to help people," said study co-author Andrew Chang, a research technician at the Fitzpatrick lab.

Although the human sweet taste receptor is found mostly on taste buds in the mouth, Dr. Zhang noted it is also scattered throughout the body, where it may play a role in the function of organs such as the pancreas. As such, the new map of this receptor’s structure might support research investigating our metabolism, as well as in disorders such as diabetes. 

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The paper, "The structure of human sweetness," was published in Cell on May 7, 2025.

The full list of authors includes Juen Zhang, Zhengyuan Lu, Ruihuan Yu, Andrew N. Chang, Brian Wang, Anthony W.P. Fitzpatrick and Charles S. Zuker.

The authors report no competing interests.

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Journal

Cell

DOI

10.1016/j.cell.2025.04.021 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

The Structure of Human Sweetness

Article Publication Date

7-May-2025