Lit Review: Sense of smell.

Our sense of smell is the ability to detect odors in our environment, like the fragrance of flowers or the smell of baking bread. Smell is also the ability to detect food adors released in our mouths when we eat, which then flow from the throat to the nose. Smell is part of our chemical sensing system, or the "chemosenses"

How does smell important?
Smell is important because it lets us fully enjoy scents and fragrances, and contributes greatly to our enjoyment of food and beverages. But, even more important, smell can be a warming sign that something is wrong in our environment. Smell helps us to know when food is spoiled or if there is a gas leak.

Do people confuse amell problems with taste problems?
Many people mistakenly think they have a problem with taste, when what they are really experiencing is a problem with smell. It is common for people who lose their sense of smell to think that food has lost its taste. This is usually not the case. The food has lost its aroma, but tastes, such as sweet, salty, sour, and bitter, remain.

How does the sense of smell work?
Smell is very direct sense. In order for you to smell something, molecules from that thing have to make it to our nose. Everything you smell, therefore, is giving of molecules- whether it is bread in the bakery, onions, perfume, a piece of fruit or whatever. Those molecules are generally light, volatile (easy to evaporate) chemicals that float through the air in to your nose.

According to the book Molecular Biology of the Cell: Humans can distinguish more than 10,000 different smells (odorants), which are detected by specialized olfactory receptor neurons lining the nose... It is throught that there are hundreeds of different olfactory receptors, each encoded by a different gene and each reconizing different odorants.

Why are smell and taste important?
Your senses of smell and taste let you fully enjoy the scents and flavors of food and drinks. These senses also protect your from food poisoning and warn you of dangers like fire, polluted air and poisonous chemicals.