Ants Have Higher Sense of Smell

Completing the first full map of the olfactory system of ants, researchers have discovered that ants have a dramatically more advanced odor-sensing capability than other species with four to five time more odor receptors than flying insects such as moths, mosquitoes and honeybees.

The Smell of Space

NASA astronauts returning from spacewalks through an airlock have consistently reported a unique and overpowering scent in their vicinity and on their suits and equipment, a mysterious "smell of space" with no known source that is described as a mix of meat, metal, gunpowder, rum and raspberries.

Ants Remember Enemy Scent

A new study using tropical weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) shows that ants remember the particular chemical odor of other ants not native to their colonies and are able to pass along that "chemical signature" to their nest-mates as a collective memory for defense of the colony.

Complexity of Human Nose

Researchers have found the receptors within the human nose are not randomly distributed but are organized into "hot spots" of nasal neurons that help the brain by preprocessing scent information for pleasant and unpleasant aromas.

Earliest Mammals Smelled

Research into the fossils of the earliest evolved mammals living 190 million years ago suggests their larger than average brains first developed to process a sense of smell and tactile sensations.

Flies Detect Isotopes

Research shows that common fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) can detect the difference between atomic isotopes of hydrogen and deuterium, which may provide insight into the nature of how olfaction operates by atomic vibration instead of receptor shape.

Bacteria Can Smell

New studies of two species of soil bacteria revealed that colonies could detect the odor of airborne ammonia, forming a slimy biofilm and slowly migrating toward the source, suggesting the sense of smell may have evolved much earlier than previously thought.