Smell

Abstract

The remote character of the functioning of the olfactory organ is based on a simple phenomenon: molecules of an odorant are separated from the main bulk and, being volatile, are wafted around by air currents. They are thus capable of interacting with olfactory cells. In this particular case we are concerned with the interaction of molecules of an odorant with the receptor cells of the olfactory organ, hence the problem of function posed by this sense organ was always a problem of molecular biology. Up to the present, despite an abundance of theories of olfaction, the nature of the interaction of odorant molecules with an olfactory receptor cell has not yet been elucidated. Until recently, researchers have been primarily concerned with the chemical structure and shape of odorant molecules, and considerable progress has been made in this direction. However, we still do not know what substances are present in receptor olfactory cells, the molecules of which react with odorant molecules.