Smell, rather than sight, reigns as the supreme sense for most animals. It allows them to find food, avoid danger, and attract mates; it dominates their perceptions and guides their behavior; it ...

The human nose has the extraordinary ability to detect nearly 1 trillion scents. Olfaction is an extremely complex process and this process of detection involves the working of neurons in the brain ...

Humans sense odors when some of their nearly 400 odorant receptors, or ORs, are activated in the nose. Each OR is activated by a unique set of chemicals; together, the large OR family can detect a ...

Researchers have finally seen how some smell receptors bind to odor molecules. The work yields new insights into one of the most mysterious and versatile senses. Smell, rather than sight, reigns as ...