Olfaction News and Research

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Noninvasive technique detects prostate cancer using an electronic nose

We may soon be able to make easy and early diagnoses of prostate cancer by smell. Investigators in Finland have established that a novel noninvasive technique can detect prostate cancer using an electronic nose. In a proof of principle study, the eNose successfully discriminated between prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by "sniffing" urine headspace (the space directly above the urine sample). Results using the eNose are comparable to testing prostate specific antigen (PSA), reports the Journal of Urology.

1 May 2014

Monell Center announces advocacy program to identify biological causes of smell loss

On Anosmia Awareness Day, the Monell Center announces "A Sense of Hope: The Monell Anosmia Project," a three-year $1.5M fundraising campaign to support a research and advocacy program focused on anosmia, the loss of the sense of smell.

4 Mar 2014

CUMC researchers find potential target for treating autism, schizophrenia, and other brain disorders

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have determined that a small region of the hippocampus known as CA2 is essential for social memory, the ability of an animal to recognize another of the same species.

24 Feb 2014

Researchers find how olfactory receptor variation impacts human odor perception

According to Gertrude Stein, "A rose is a rose is a rose," but new research indicates that might not be the case when it comes to the rose's scent. Researchers from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions have found that as much as 30 percent of the large array of human olfactory receptor differs between any two individuals. This substantial variation is in turn reflected by variability in how each person perceives odors.

9 Dec 2013

Study: Mosquitoes able to smell major human host odorants better at night

In work published this week in Nature: Scientific Reports, a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame's Eck Institute for Global Health, led by Associate Professor Giles Duffield and Assistant Professor Zain Syed of the Department of Biological Sciences, revealed that the major malaria vector in Africa, the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, is able to smell major human host odorants better at night.

31 Aug 2013

African-Americans have much greater decrease in their sense of smell, study finds

The ability to distinguish between odors declines steadily with age, but a new study shows that African-Americans have a much greater decrease in their sense of smell than Caucasians.

13 Jun 2013

Salk neuroscientist applauds launch of BRAIN Initiative

Salk neuroscientist Terrence J. Sejnowski joined President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2013, at the launch of the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative-a major Administration neuroscience effort that advances and builds upon collaborative scientific work by leading brain researchers such as Salk's own Sejnowski.

3 Apr 2013

Animals adjust their sense of smell through sniffing techniques

Animals use their noses to focus their sense of smell, much the same way that humans focus their eyes, new research at the University of Chicago shows.

31 Oct 2012

New toolbox for neuroscientists will reduce time for clinical research

Richard Gershon has a shiny new toolbox for neuroscientists that will revolutionize their clinical research by making it radically faster, cheaper and more accurate. It also will help researchers recruit children and adults for studies because participation will be much less time consuming.

1 Sep 2012

Bradykinesia in Parkinson’s disease: an interview with Dr. Joseph Giuffrida, President of Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies

Currently in the United States, there are over 1.5 million people living with Parkinson's and 50,000 new cases reported each year

30 Aug 2012

Potential PD biomarkers identified for sleep behavior disorder

Concomitant olfaction abnormality and increased substantia nigra echogenicity may be preclinical manifestations of parkinsonism in patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, research suggests.

3 Aug 2012

Electronic nose and optoacoustics improve diagnosis of prostate cancer

Chances of survival of prostate cancer depend strongly on the stage at which the disease is diagnosed. Now scientists have developed new methods relying on an electronic nose and optoacoustics to improve the diagnosis techniques and avoid fatal treatment delays

2 Jun 2012

Distal-less gene plays a critical role in development of fruit fly olfactory system

Fruit flies don't have noses, but a huge part of their brains is dedicated to processing smells. Flies probably rely on the sense of smell more than any other sense for essential activities such as finding mates and avoiding danger. UW-Madison researchers have discovered that a gene called distal-less is critical to the fly's ability to receive, process and respond to smells.

20 Jan 2012

Modern humans have a better sense of smell than Neanderthals

Compared to Neanderthals, modern humans have a better sense of smell. Differences in the temporal lobes and olfactory bulbs also suggest a combined use of brain functions related to cognition and olfaction. The increase of brain size is intimately linked to the evolution of humanity. Two different human species, Neanderthals and modern humans, have independently evolved brains of roughly the same size but with differing shapes. This could indicate a difference in the underlying brain organization.

15 Dec 2011

New protein in the fruit fly eye may shed light on neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and collaborators have discovered a powerful new protein in the eye of the fruit fly that may shed light on blinding diseases and other sensory problems in humans.

18 Nov 2011

Brain smells what it expects rather than what it sniffs

In the moments before you "stop and smell the roses," it's likely your brain is already preparing your sensory system for that familiar floral smell. New research from Northwestern Medicine offers strong evidence that the brain uses predictive coding to generate "predictive templates" of specific smells -- setting up a mental expectation of a scent before it hits your nostrils.

7 Oct 2011

Rodent olfaction and the chemistry of instinct

The mechanics of instinctive behavior are mysterious. Even something as simple as the question of how a mouse can use its powerful sense of smell to detect and evade predators, including species it has never met before, has been almost totally unknown at the molecular level until now.

29 Jun 2011

Scientists discover how odors are detected and processed by brain

Researchers seeking to unravel the most ancient yet least understood of the five senses - smell - have discovered a previously unknown step in how odors are detected and processed by the brain.

28 Mar 2011

Bonding with mom develops over first few weeks of life in rodent pups

For rodent pups, bonding with mom isn't hard-wired in the womb. It develops over the first few weeks of life, which is achieved by their maturing sense of smell, possibly allowing these mammals a survival advantage by learning to identify mother, siblings, and home.

14 Mar 2011

Research on fruit flies reveal novel human pain gene

While it has become clear in recent years that susceptibility to pain has a strong inherited component, very little is known about actual "pain genes" and how they work. In the November 12th issue of Cell, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and their collaborators report on a novel human pain gene. People with minor variations in this gene showed clear differences in susceptibility to acute heat pain and chronic back pain.

12 Nov 2010