You smell..

Do you smell that? It’s the smell of science! We all smell things (at least most of us) and we tend to just accept it. But let’s question it. Why do we smell? (And not in the sense that someone stinks)

Well, a good word to start with is olfaction. It is basically the scientific word for our sense of smell. Olfaction is due to chemicals that trigger certain nerves in the nasal passages in our nose. These chemicals can make us hungry or ruin our appetite. They can even effect our taste.

From olfaction comes olfactory. Olfactory nerves, in particular, are the nerves that form the membrane that picks up on the chemicals that allow us to smell things. These nerves, once stimulated, send signals to the olfactory bulb in our brain. From the olfactory bulb, those impulses are then sent out to the cerebral cortex, processed, and interpreted.

Our sense that takes part in our nose plays a very important role in our function of human beings. One of the many factors that our sense of smell contributes to is our interpretation of pheromones. Pheromones are chemicals that affect how other organisms may act. We typically hear the term pheromone used in relation to attraction to other organisms. These pheromones are actually interpreted by separate receptors from the olfactory. These receptors are collectively called the vomeronasal organ.

So, our nose plays a huge role in our role as a human being. It is a very impressive function that we normally don’t think much about. So, next time you are walking around outside and catch a whiff of a rosebush, remember just how much goes into allowing you to smell that smell.