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Fruit flies are known for their sweet tooth, but new research also indicates they may offer hints to how animals sense — and avoid — high concentrations of salt. Using mutant fruit flies, zoologists have identified a new high-salt receptor on the tongue of Drosophila — receptor IR7c. IR7c governs the insects’ ability to detect dangerously high concentrations of salt, typically over 0.25 moles per liter, or about half as salty as sea water.