how do we smell?!?

Question

how does your sense of smell work? is it when small particles of something dissolve in a part of your nose?

Answer 1

There are specialised cells called olfactory sensors in your nasal cavity (in the olfactory region); "olfaction" means "smell".

These cells have receptor proteins on their surface which recognise specific molecules by their shape, and signal the brain when they bind that molecule. This is actually a *combinatorial* process, so for example, lets say there are three kinds of receptor: A, B, and C.
Molecule 1 is bound by A and B, and our brains recognise this as the smell of pineapple. Molecule 2 is only bound by A, and it is peppermint. Molecule 3 is bound by A and C, and it is creosote. Molecule 4 is only bound by C, and it is sulphurous brimstone ... and so on.
It's not "one molecule, one receptor, one smell". The combinatorial nature of the receptor function allows for more smells to be recognised than there are receptors.

The human nose contains ~1000 different kinds of receptor cell, with around 10 million of each type. Because of their combinatorial function, these receptors can recognise around 10,000 different kinds of odour, some of them at a concentration of as low as 1 or 2 parts per million.
Some chemicals have no odour, and there is a genetic component: so cyanide is odourless to around 50% of the population, while the rest detect it as a bitter almond smell.

Answer 2

This short article describes what happens to make our sense of smell work. Briefly, there are neurons with little extensions that stick out into the nasal cavities. On these extensions are proteins that catch the tiny molecules that carry the aroma in the air. That causes a change in shape on the extensions, and the signal is sent to the brain to be interpreted as a certain smell.

But really, your question caught my eye because I had an elderly neighbor who was losing her sense of smell. She could say that in a dozen different ways, none of which sounded right:

I used to spell pretty good, but I don't any more.
I don't smell as good as I used to.
... and so on.

Answer 3

Specialized receptor cells of the olfactory epithelium detect and recognize smells.

Your nose is a huge cavity built to smell, moisten, and filter the air you breathe. When you breathe in, the tiny hairs, called cilia, act like a broom and filter everything trying to get into your nose; from dust particles to bugs.

The air passes through the nasal cavity and though a thick layer of mucous to the olfactory bulb. The smells are recognized here because each smell molecule fits into a nerve cell like a puzzle piece. The cells then send signals to the brain via the olfactory nerve. The brain then interprets those molecules as the sweet flowers, or the curdling milk that you've held up to your nose.

Humans can detect over 10,000 different smells. The olfactory nerve picks up the scents from the air you breathe and translate them into nerve impulses or messages that are then sent to the olfactory bulb located in the front of the brain.

Actually, how and why we smell is still inadequately known. There are many theories about the exact process of our sense of smell. Most believe that it is highly specialized processes in which molecular rings and receptors invite odorant-bringing proteins. It is a very complicate, intricately detailed, and mysteriously misunderstood system, our sense of smell.

Did you know?

Dogs have 1 million smell cells per nostril, and their cells are up to 100 times larger than those of humans.
Anosmia is the condition that makes people unable to smell.
Your sense of smell directly affects your sense of taste.
Smell can evoke emotions such as happiness, fear, even sexuality. the "smell-brain," the Rhinocephlon is functionally associated with the entire emotional tone of a person.

Answer 4

I don't know, but isn't it strange that although our nose smells, our tongue tastes who is experiencing all these? Is it mind? Is it body? Strange isn't it, although being a machine, actually we are not. What a strange world is this? Strange enough to fascinate me to go into depths of world

But when I went to find this world, i was faced with terrible blow, then the world seemed strangely like a demon, then I realized that this world is meant for destruction....this maya is devil.

Now I think, Am I indifferent to the world? Maybe, Maybe I am happy this way! Sorry to say this , this was from my experience

Answer 5

Neurons, at the back for your nasal cavity receive oder molecules, the signal for that scent is then transmitted to the brain. Stuff that has little or no scent are not giving off any oder molecules.

Answer 6

the sensory receptors of our nose will strike the nerve impulse in the brain to identify the smell.

Answer 7

yea the naval cavity each smell is identified by a certain molecule....

at the roof of our nasal cavity, we have protein receptors which bind to a specific kind of smell.

once a certain molecule binds to its specific receptor, it activates a cascade of reactions which end up stimulating a certain area of your brain

Answer 8

each smell is identified by a certain molecule....

at the roof of our nasal cavity, we have protein receptors which bind to a specific kind of smell.

once a certain molecule binds to its specific receptor, it activates a cascade of reactions which end up stimulating a certain area of your brain

Answer 9

your sense of smell is produced from chemical reactions (like taste) that happen in your nose and produce smells that are processed in your brain.

Answer 10

Now that's an unhappy thought - especially if you're smelling pooh or vomit.