Every living thing must solve an equation. How much nitrogen to eat, how much sodium, how much phosphorus, etc. The body solves that equation by taste and flavor -- by making living things crave what they need. Our appetites are linked to nutritional requirements. Taste: The Flavor of Life, a new docuseries on Curiosity Stream, explores the world of taste and how deliciousness unites us with the rest of animals in surprising ways.

For example -- Organisms need salt for their cells to function properly. If a food has salt, the taste receptor sends a signal to the brain, creating pleasure. The umami taste receptor rewards animals for finding nitrogen, an element that’s essential for building proteins and genes. Sweet taste receptors encourage animals to find foods with enough sugar to fuel their daily activity. Taste: The Flavor of Life traces the impact of taste from animals’ first steps on land to top Michelin star restaurants!

Taste: The Flavor of Life comes from biologist Rob Dunn and is inspired by his book Delicious – The Evolution of Flavor and How It Made Us Human (co-written by Monica Sanchez). A Professor at NC State University, Rob leads the Public Science Lab, a group of scholars from diverse disciplines who work to make new discoveries about daily life. His research has been awarded more than ten million dollars in grants from more than twelve different sources for work in 20 different countries. An avid writer, Rob has published many articles in National Geographic, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal among many others, as well as seven books including The Wild Life of Our Bodies and A Natural History of the Future.