Smelling Difference
A rose by any other name might smell as sweet—-or maybe not. It’s a world of sensory difference out there, Gene Expression notes in a post today, citing Genetic variation in a human odorant receptor alters odour perception in Nature. Today’s Science Daily explains how urine can smell like vanilla to some, and vanilla like urine to others:
But androstenone, a derivative of testosterone that is a potent ingredient in male body odor, can smell like either - depending on your genes. While many people perceive a foul odor from androstenone, usually that of stale urine or strong sweat, others find the scent sweet and pleasant. Still others cannot smell it at all.
New research from Rockefeller University, performed in collaboration with scientists at Duke University in North Carolina, reveals for the first time that this extreme variability in people’s perception of androstenone is due in large part to genetic variations in a single odorant receptor called OR7D4.
Gene Expression has previously posted about “sensitivity to taste and variation” and I’ve long noticed that my son Charlie is drawn to strong smells and tastes—-he likes green onions raw and onions in general—-and not (as far as I can tell) overly bothered by some of the more unpleasant smells. Tonight, he kept helping himself to the rice from some jambalaya that Jim ordered (and that, Jim assured me, was hot): Not every nose knows the same thing.
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POSTED IN: Food and Diet, Genetics, Science, Sensory
2 opinions for Smelling Difference
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Sep 17, 2007 at 5:06 am
My older son seems to prefer stronger flavours.
Amanda
Sep 17, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I remember boys smelling different than girls when I was a kid.
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