Posted by Robin on Leave a Comment
Scientists have discovered that repellent odors suppress the perception of pleasant smells. This happens because certain brain structures that respond to attractive odors are inhibited by a repellent one.
— In vinegar flies, anyway. Read more at A repellent odor inhibits the perception of a pleasant odor in vinegar flies at Science Daily.
Posted by Robin on 4 Comments
Why do certain foods smell good to us?
New research by psychology professor Don Katz and his lab suggests it has a lot more to do with what happens in our mouths than commonly thought.
It turns out that we don’t inhale the scent of food and decide we like its smell. First, we have to eat it.
— Read more at Your mouth helps you smell tasty foods at Brandeis NOW.
Posted by Robin on Leave a Comment
Call it a genomic nosegay. Unlike a floral nosegay, which releases scents, the genomic nosegay—a 3D spatial arrangement of olfactory receptor genes—helps us recognize them. Varied 3D arrangements are so effective that they allow us to distinguish one trillion different scents even though we have just 400 dedicated olfactory receptor genes.
— Read more at Countless Scents ID’d by Varied 3D Arrangements of Relatively Few Genes at Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.
Posted by Robin on 3 Comments
Humans have about 400 odor receptors. Elephants have about 2,000, the largest number in animals. But based on how many transcription factor genes are in plants, plants may be able to detect many more odors than animals.
— Professor Kazushige Touhara, whose team at the University of Tokyo "have discovered the first steps of how information from odor molecules changes gene expression in plants". Read more at Plants can smell, now researchers know how at ScienceDaily.
Posted by Robin on 6 Comments
If they were exposed to the smell of cookies for thirty seconds or less, they were more likely to pick the cookie. But when they smelled it for longer than two minutes, they were more likely to pick strawberries.
— Read more at The Nose May Know When It Comes To Food Choice at WLRN Public Radio and Television.