Neuroscience

What's that smell? Scientists find a new way to understand odors

Every smell, from a rose to a smoky fire to a pungent fish, is composed of a mixture of odorant molecules that bind to protein receptors inside your nose. But scientists have struggled to understand exactly what makes each ...

Neuroscience

Study tracks what moths think when they smell with their antennae

Think of an animal tracking a scent, and you may picture a bloodhound with its nose to the ground. But a moth fluttering through the air is likely smelling for clues, too. Pollinating insects like the hawkmoth track scents ...

Neuroscience

What's that smell? The advantage of sniffing

Researchers led by Takeshi Imai at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) have discovered how the physical and sensory perceptions associated with sniffing are kept separate and why sniffing can help identify odors, ...

Neuroscience

The vibrational theory of olfaction for the win

(Medical Xpress)—As occurred in the painstaking deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphs, adherence to outmoded ideas is a lasting impediment to our understanding of how odorants are decoded by the olfactory system. The primary ...

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