Fragrance is defined by shape, study finds

Scientists looking at scent prediction have discovered that what we experience as a fragrance is defined by just the surface shape of a scent molecule. The study, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, was a scent-prediction test using the lily-of-the-valley olfactory receptor, possible to isolate because it is found in sperm. Once the receptor was isolated, the primary process of scent sensing could be simulated by computer. If the shape of the olfactory receptor is known, the idea is that predicting the shape of the scent molecule can be done by computer. The test showed that at threshold levels, alterations in the scent molecule that didn’t affect its shape were still interpreted by the nose as the same scent. The issue of the journal in which the study was published is scented with lily of the valley, so readers can smell for themselves. Read more at Medical News Today and Chemie.de