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In many species, smell is highly tuned to pheromones; a male silkworm moth, for example, can sense a single molecule of bombykol. Fish, too, have a well-developed sense of smell, even though they inhabit an aquatic environment. [citation needed] Salmon utilize their sense of smell to identify and return to their home stream waters. Catfish use ...
Olfactory receptors (ORs), also known as odorant receptors, are chemoreceptors expressed in the cell membranes of olfactory receptor neurons and are responsible for the detection of odorants (for example, compounds that have an odor) which give rise to the sense of smell.
The role of smell has long been viewed as secondary to the importance of auditory, tactile, and visual senses. [23] Humans do not rely on olfaction for survival to the same extent as other species. Instead, smell plays a heavier role in aesthetic food perception and gathering information on the surroundings. [1]
The olfactory system, is the sensory system used for the sense of smell (olfaction). Olfaction is one of the special senses directly associated with specific organs. Most mammals and reptiles have a main olfactory system and an accessory olfactory system. The main olfactory system detects airborne substances, while the accessory system senses ...
The olfactory bulb transmits smell information from the nose to the brain, and is thus necessary for a proper sense of smell. As a neural circuit, the glomerular layer receives direct input from afferent nerves, made up of the axons from approximately ten million olfactory receptor neurons in the olfactory mucosa, a region of the nasal cavity.
The sense of smell can induce pleasure or subconsciously warn of danger, which may, for example, help to locate mates, find food, or detect predators. Humans have an unusually good sense of smell considering they have only 350 functional olfactory receptor genes compared to the 1,300 found in mice, for example.
Fragrance bottles. An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor.For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently volatile for transmission via the air to the olfactory system in the upper part of the nose.
Quantum biology is the study of applications of quantum mechanics and theoretical chemistry to aspects of biology that cannot be accurately described by the classical laws of physics. [1] An understanding of fundamental quantum interactions is important because they determine the properties of the next level of organization in biological systems.