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How Do Humans Identify Smells?

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Posted on: August 1, 2011
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How Do Humans Identify Smells?

Smells

Smells

Human beings can identify much number of smells through nose easily. But there are only four hundred receptor cells in the nose through which   smells are identified. Receptor cells contain proteins capable of absorbing the particles related to a specific smell. No separate receptor cells exist for each kind of smell. For example, there will be no separate receptors for identifying the smell of Rose flower or Lilly flower. Only those limited number of receptor cells present in the nose are used to identify all types of smells. The main reason for the capability of identifying such many number of smells through such limited number of receptors in nose is due to the presence of cells related to nerves. Each cell responds to huge number of smells. But there is difference in the intensities of responding to each flavor. Human being can come to the decision of recognition of a smell based on the cells which respond to that flavor specially and intensity of the flavor received particularly. For example, when the Rose flower is smelled, a group of responding cells in the nose gets stimulated. Those impulses are sent to the brain at the specific related portion in its front end. Based on these impulse responses, brain would understand the smell of Rose flower. Now presently many scientists are doing research regarding the smelling phenomenon and recognition by brain through Brain Scanning Method.

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