Smelling is an ability that is often overlooked in everyday-life. Smell can tell you when Dinner is ready, or bring you back to to a particular memory in your mind. But how do we extract those information out of seemingly thin air? Before we can delve deeper into that we first need to clarify what smell even is.
The air is filled with many small odor molecules which are released from things like perfume or food. Your nose has the astonishing ability to smell thousands of different scents because in your nose are millions of smell receptors cells that can recognize odor
molecules. When you smell the air, these special cells are activated.
These receptor cells then send a signal to your brain. Your brain recognizes many scents when different types of smells enter your nose. The smell of a cake, for example is composed of many odor molecules. Your brain can piece together all this information and let you know there is a cake baking in the oven.
Your brain is very good at memorizing good and bad experiences and associating particular smells with them. Scientists call these “olfaction associated memories.”
One example of this is when you smell a favorite meal. It might remind you of someone who makes it for you, which makes your brain release chemicals that make you feel good.
Of course, smell can also be associated with unpleasant experiences. You have propably eaten some food that went bad, and you might find that you hate that food now. This is your brain associating getting sick with a certain smell, which stops you from eating something that could be bad for you. Memories linked to smells can form because of good and bad feelings.
But what about things that you know smell good or bad even if you’ve never experienced them? Scientists have found that although a lot of the smells people like come from past experiences, instincts play a big role.
Scent tells you a lot about your surroundings, and your instincts help to decide what is safe or dangerous.
Smell can warn you when something could make you sick. When eggs rot, bacteria multiply inside them, breaking down proteins that release a toxic chemical called hydrogen sulfide. This produces a smell that makes you want to stay away, stopping you
from eating the egg and becoming ill. So in conclusion the ability to smell should be appreciated more in our lifes, since it can help us in many situations if used correctly.