Cover picture: Maintaining intact taste buds within the tongue or palate epithelium allows the restricted delivery of taste stimuli to the apical membrane of taste receptor cells while whole-cell current is recorded from the basolateral membrane. The center image shows the base of a taste bud in the tongue epithelium that has been fixed after recording; a biocytin-filled receptor cell is labeled with DAB. The apical projection of this cell can be seen (out of focus) receding toward the taste pore. Top inset, A Lucifer yellow-filled patch pipette in a whole-cell configuration with a taste receptor cell. Bottom inset, Whole-cell currents recorded from a single receptor cell showing inward current and increased conductance in response to NaCl and decreased conductance after apical stimulation with sucrose. Sensitivities to the four basic taste stimuli (sucrose, NaCl, HCl, and quinine) were independently distributed across taste receptor cells. For details, see the article by Gilbertson et al. in this issue (pages 4931-4941).