Odor code for food is based on a few volatile substances

(Phys.org) —The actual flavor of a food is experienced through our sense of smell rather than with our tongue. However, of the large number of volatile compounds in foods, only about 230 are involved in the scent, as reported ...

Genomic and computational tools provide window to distant past

Out of the estimated 23,000 or more genes in the human genome, about 100 of them will differ—they will be present or not—between any two individuals. Genes lost or gained over time result from evolution and adaptation, ...

Genomic analysis solves the turtle mystery

The turtle has always been considered somewhat odd in evolutionary terms. In addition to lacking the hole in the skull—the temporal fenestra—that is characteristic of the egg-laying amniotes, the structure of its shell ...

Ants have an exceptionally 'hi-def' sense of smell

The first complete map of the ants' olfactory system has discovered that the eusocial insects have four to fives more odorant receptors—the special proteins that detect different odors—than other insects.

Humidity increases odour perception in terrestrial hermit crabs

(Phys.org) -- Max Planck scientists have found out that the olfactory system in hermit crabs is still underdeveloped in comparison to that of vinegar flies. While flies have a very sensitive sense of smell and are able to ...

Researchers find gene critical to sense of smell in fruit fly

(Medical Xpress) -- Fruit flies don't have noses, but a huge part of their brains is dedicated to processing smells. Flies probably rely on the sense of smell more than any other sense for essential activities such as finding ...

Smells may help birds find their homes, avoid inbreeding

Birds may have a more highly developed sense of smell than researchers previously thought, contend scholars who have found that penguins may use smell to determine if they are related to a potential mate.

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