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 ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

The human sense of smell: It's stronger than we think

When it comes to our sense of smell, we have been led to believe that animals win out over humans: No way can we compete with dogs and rodents, some of the best sniffers in the animal kingdom.

Neuroscience

Fish courtship pheromone uses the brain's smell pathway

Research at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan has revealed that a molecule involved in fish reproduction activates the brain via the nose. The pheromone is released by female zebrafish and sensed by smell receptors ...

Neuroscience

3-D model of human retronasal olfactory sense

The sweetness of a peppermint candy can be experienced with the nose pinched shut, but flavor is detectable only when the pinch is released and volatiles in the candy are exhaled back into the nose where smell receptors exist.

Neuroscience

Researchers identify critical link in mammalian odor detection

Researchers at the Monell Center and collaborators have identified a protein that is critical to the ability of mammals to smell. Mice engineered to be lacking the Ggamma13 protein in their olfactory receptors were functionally ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Three reasons why strong perfumes give you a headache

Humans can smell over 1 trillion odours. But no two people will react in quite the same way to the same smell. While there are some smells almost everyone agrees are unpleasant (such as paint thinner or rotten food), our ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Research priorities for smell disorders revealed

From stem cell therapy to regenerating smell receptors, experts at the University of East Anglia have helped develop a list of research priorities for people with smell and taste disorders.

page 1 from 3