Axel and Buck discovered a large gene family of "odorant receptors" helping to understand how humans "can consciously experience the smell of a lilac flower in the spring and recall this olfactory memory at other times."
A good wine or a sunripe wild strawberry activates a whole array of odorant receptors, helping us to perceive the different odorant molecules.
A unique odour can trigger distinct memories from our childhood or from emotional moments — positive or negative — later in life.
3 comments:
You know, a younger me would have laughed at this getting the Nobel, but six months ago I lost my sense of smell almost completely and I've come to realize just how important it is. I really took for granted its telling me when the boy needed a diaper change, when dinner was almost ready, when something was mouldy... and don't even get me started on what it's like to barely taste your food.
--rachel
What's with that? How'd you lose the smell capacity? Or is that too personal? Or do I have to search your blog archives to unearth the story? And why can't I find your email address?
Meanwhile, the Ig Nobel Awards are out there for our amusement, and personally, I think some of the science there ought to be taken more seriously, like investigating the scientific validity of the Five-Second Rule, though I'm a little disappointed they don't factor in pet-ownership to someone's willingness to abide by the rule.
I have mentioned my anosmia (yes, there's a word for it) in passing on the blog, but that's all. This is partly because I was in denial about it for a long time (I can still taste my food! It'll clear up!) and partly because I still haven't gotten my lazy ass to a doctor, so I don't know the real cause yet. I had a bad cold last April and lost my sense of smell, as one does with a cold, and it just never came back. I am going to a doctor at the end of this month, and I expect I'll have something to say about it on the blog then...
My e-mail address: amyunbounded at yahoo dot com.
--rachel
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