Biosensor sniffs out explosives
Temple University School of Medicine researchers have developed a new biosensor that sniffs out explosives and could one day be used to detect landmines and deadly agents, such as sarin gas, according to a paper in the June issue of Nature Chemical Biology. view more (2007-05-09)
... yeast strain with mammalian (rat) olfactory signaling machinery and genetically linked it to the expression of ... cells, they cloned individual rat olfactory receptors. When the olfactory receptor "smells" the odor of DNT, an ingredient in the ... clone and sequence this novel olfactory receptor.
"We suspected that harnessing the potential of the olfactory system, which can detect innumerable chemical agents with ...
Penn study on olfactory nerve cells shows why we smell better when we sniff
Unlike most of our sensory systems that detect only one type of stimuli, our sense of smell works double duty, detecting both chemical and mechanical stimuli to improve how we smell, according to University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers in the March issue of Nature Neuroscience. view more (2007-03-14)
... of stimuli produce reaction in olfactory nerve cells, which control how our brain perceives what we ... us understand how the mammalian olfactory system encodes and decodes odor information in the environment."
Researchers ... different types of stimulation on olfactory neurons in mice: chemical stimuli, such as those used in ... produced a reaction in the olfactory neurons, the primary sensory neurons in ...
‘Perfume’ lures flies into trap
As part of a project funded by the NWO’s Technology Foundation (STW), a Groningen research team has investigated how flies react to the odours of such things as old pork, bread and chicken manure. The findings will be used to develop more effective flytraps, for example for use in stables. Flies are attracted to decaying and fermenting... view more... (2001-05-30)
... smell with special cells in olfactory hairs on their antennae and palps. When olfactory molecules bind to the olfactory cell, tiny electrical impulses are transmitted to the brain. An ... determine the reaction to an olfactory stimulus. The STW study showed that the majority of olfactory cells react to a variety of smells and that there ... are only a few specialised ...
Evolutionary shifts in olfactory sensitivities in fruit flies
How do an animal's senses change as it evolves to occupy a new ecological niche? By comparing the olfactory system of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which feeds from multiple fruit types, with that of its sibling species D. sechellia, a specialist particularly drawn to a single fruit type. view more (2006-01-10)
... ecological niche? By comparing the olfactory system of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which feeds from ... Most insects rely on their olfactory system to detect mates, food, and egg-laying sites. This also ... the peripheral and the central olfactory systems have been mapped in detail in D. melanogaster, an ... odor. The researchers found that olfactory hairs (sensilla) on the antenna that ...
Olfactory nerve cells expressing same receptor display a varied set of reactions
n a mouse model, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers discovered that olfactory sensory neurons expressing the same receptor responded to a specific odor with an array of speeds and sensitivities. view more (2006-02-03)
... of Medicine researchers discovered that olfactory sensory neurons expressing the same receptor responded to a specific ... "But in real biology, these olfactory neurons keep regenerating, and even though they all express the ... different qualities. By knowing that olfactory neurons can respond differently, we're adding another layer to understanding ... layer to understanding how the olfactory system receives outside information." Ma's group ...
When smell cells fail they call in stem cell reserves
Hopkins researchers have identified a backup supply of stem cells that can repair the most severe damage to the nerves responsible for our sense of smell. view more (2007-04-30)
... brain to the outside world, olfactory cells are under constant assault from harsh chemicals that one ...
To figure out how the olfactory system repairs severely damaged nerve cells, Reed's team exposed mouse ... cells, Reed's team exposed mouse olfactory nerves to a cloud of toxic methyl-bromide gas. Methyl bromide ... Methyl bromide kills not only olfactory nerve cells but also neighboring, non-nerve ...
Two 'noses' are necessary for flies to navigate well
Animals and insects communicate through an invisible world of scents. By exploiting infrared technology, researchers at Rockefeller University just made that world visible. view more (2007-12-27)
... larvae detect smells with both olfactory organs they find their way toward a scented target more ... it is smelled with both olfactory organs. By genetically manipulating flies to express odorant receptors in ... express odorant receptors in one olfactory organ or both, they show that the brains of Drosophila ... only the ones with both olfactory organs working accurately navigated toward the ...
Biologists find biological clock for smell in mice
Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered a large biological clock in the smelling center of mice brains and have revealed that the sense of smell for mice is stronger at night, peaking in evening hours and waning during day light hours. view more (2006-12-19)
... discovered the clock in the olfactory bulb, the brain center that aids the mouse in detecting ... both the SCN and the olfactory bulb keep 24-hour time and are normally highly sychronized to ... is the observation that the olfactory bulb clock can run independent of daily rhythms in sleep-wake ... and counted the number of olfactory bulb cells that had been activated ...
The brain is more adept at using the nose than previously realized
Brains are able to adjust automatically to the demands of distinguishing between small differences in smell, new research at the University of Chicago shows. view more (2007-04-30)
... on the neural basis of olfactory perception and how context and experience influence it.
The research ... dissertation research in the talk, "Olfactory bulb gamma oscillations are dynamically altered to adjust to task ... Sciences in Sarasota, Florida.
The olfactory bulb is the portion of the brain that processes scent ... looked at the how the olfactory bulb works in regulating smell and ...
Alcoholics' deficits in smell are linked to frontal lobe dysfunction
Prior research has shown that chronic alcoholism is associated with numerous olfactory deficits in odor judgment, odor identification, odor sensitivity, and the ability to qualitatively discriminate between odors. New findings indicate that olfactory deficits among alcoholics are associated with prefrontal cognitive dysfunction, specifically,... view more... (2006-07-25)
... alcoholism is associated with numerous olfactory deficits in odor judgment, odor identification, odor sensitivity, and the ... odors. New findings indicate that olfactory deficits among alcoholics are associated with prefrontal cognitive dysfunction, specifically, ... play a major role in olfactory functioning, particularly in the abilities of odor quality discrimination and ... we were interested in whether olfactory deficits in alcohol dependence are related ...
Smell experience during critical period alters brain
Unlike the circuitry of the visual system, that of the olfactory system was thought to be hardwired: Once the neurons had formed, no amount of sensory input could change their arrangement. view more (2007-12-06)
... visual system, that of the olfactory system was thought to be hardwired: Once the neurons had ... a general feature of the olfactory system itself.
"The circuit has a genetic plan, but that genetic ... first compelling case that the olfactory system is plastic."
Using several imaging techniques, Vosshall and her colleagues ... development.
"During this critical period, the olfactory system is flexible enough to calibrate ...
New study examines how sense of smell affects mating and aggression in mice
New research by scientists at UCSF sheds light on how the odor detecting system in mice sends signals that affect their social behavior. view more (2005-12-22)
... mice process cues from the olfactory system-which regulates the sense of smell-should provide insight into the ... behaviors triggered by the rodent's olfactory system. The findings are published in the December issue of ... is separate from the main olfactory system. Pheromones are olfactory cues that signal the social and sexual status of individuals ... intact functioning of the main olfactory epithelium (MOE) ...
Neuroscientists discover long-term potentiation in the olfactory bulb
Ben W. Strowbridge, Ph.D, associate professor of Neuroscience and Physiology/Biophysics, and Yuan Gao, a Ph.D. student in the neurosciences program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, are the first to discover a form of synaptic memory in the olfactory bulb, the part of the brain that processes the sense of smell. view more (2009-05-04)
... of synaptic memory in the olfactory bulb, the part of the brain that processes the sense ... granule cells in the rat olfactory bulb" will be published in the June 2009 issue of ... the sense of smell, the olfactory bulb.
Gao, a fourth-year graduate student, had learned that damaging olfactory sensory pathways prevents sheep from forming selective bonds with her ... that is ...
Mice use specialized neurons to detect carbon dioxide in the air
For mice, carbon dioxide often means danger - too many animals breathing in too small a space or a hungry predator exhaling nearby. view more (2007-08-17)
... that a special set of olfactory neurons is involved, a finding that may have implications for ... issue of the journal Science.
Most olfactory sensory neurons express odorant receptor molecules and reside within the ... in the back of the olfactory bulb called necklace glomeruli, which resemble a string of beads.
The ... GC-D expressing neurons in the olfactory epithelium were activated by exposure to ...
Neural mapping paints a haphazard picture of odor receptors
Despite the striking aromatic differences between coffee, peppermint, and pine, a new mapping of the nose's neural circuitry suggests a haphazard patchwork where the receptors for such disparate scents are as likely as not to be neighbors. view more (2009-02-04)
... the same location on the olfactory bulb, the brain's first processing station for odors.
The crazy-quilt map ... the front lines of the olfactory system is described by Harvard University neuroscientists in the February ... that the layout of the olfactory bulb was variable from individual to individual, but followed a ... the same spot on the olfactory bulb, a sensory structure measuring some ... |
