Humans can distinguish at least one trillion odors, but we don’t necessarily make full use of that capability. For wild animals, where smell is associated with survival, scents may provide life or ...

For the first time, researchers have determined how a human olfactory receptor captures an airborne scent molecule, the pivotal chemical event that triggers our sense of smell. Whether it evokes roses ...

From the ability to detect the smell of wet soil to the scent of ripe fruit, the human olfactory system has evolved over thousands of years in response to how people live and what they eat, according ...

When Thomas Hummel gets a whiff of an unripe, green tomato, he finds himself in his childhood home in Bavaria. Under the tilted ceilings of the bedroom that he shared with his two older brothers, ...

How we smell is not just a matter of taste—it's also influenced by our genes. An international team of researchers led by scientists from Leipzig University has conducted the largest genetic study to ...

As mammals with large brains, humans experience smell as a powerful sensory experience that's closely linked with memory. The smell of baking bread may take us back to a moment in Paris. A perfumy ...