The Science Behind Smell (How Your Nose Works!)

Did you know that there are more genes dedicated to your sense of smell than any of your other senses? Watch our video to find out how the nose actually works and if you really can go "nose blind"!

[onecrazywheel]

I have worked with plumbers who have to work constantly around sewage and this is a fact that people can definitely get used to a particular smell, even a very bad smell. I have even noticed it when I wear cologne. I'll smell the cologne in the morning when I first spray it but during my work day I don't smell my cologne but my coworkers do. I've always thought that my brain 🧠 cancels it out in my head.

[whtemare]

The olfactory organ senses the speed at which different smells spin and everything have a unique spin profile

[celestialbeing]

I'm actually having coffee right now and it's what made me look this up.

[aterack]

these receptors react to physical presence though yes? so unlike eyes, changing where you look doesn't directly change what is on these proteins right? so how does the sense of smell reset? or does it only bind for a second till the next breath and then the next smell comes in, even if it's the same smell? or does some enzyme dissolve the thing you smell? or doe the cell die and regrow? how do you smell a new smell and not forever smell something as soon as you smell it? or does your brain ignore that cell and then read a new one and we are limited to how many things or how much we can smell, and we need to reset them mechanically either by sneezing or wiping?? i'm not fully understanding this, like say a device went into your nose to make you smell different things, would this device be able to interact with only one part of the nose for one smell, or would it need to change to create the same smell again?

[LauraTuller]

I somehow lost my sense of smell. Instead, I breathe in and out a terrible odor 24/7. My sinuses are fine, but this awful stench will not go away. Why did this happen? How can I be normal again?