Page 123 - Miracles Within the Molecule

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We Smell Molecules

When you smell a rose, sim i lar ly, what reach es you are actu al ly
scent mol e cu les belong ing to that flow er. The scent-per cep tion sys tem
in the nose resem bles that in the tongue. Molecules set tle into gaps spe -
cial ly set out for them, estab lish chem i cal bonds with the pro teins there,
and sig nals are for ward ed to the brain to give rise to the per cep tion of
smell.
We per ceive var i ous scents on a sen si tive mem brane in the nose
known as the nasal epi the li um, which con tains some 50 mil lion nerve
cells. And each nerve cell con tains sev er al pro teins that pos sess var i ous
geo met ri cal forms that are com pat i ble with scent mol e cu les. A scent
mol e cule of appro pri ate form can attach to one of the pro tein mol e cu les
there. Polarization thus takes place, giv ing rise to elec tri cal sig nals that
reach the scent-per cep tion zone locat ed just beneath the fore head. 56
Here, the infor ma tion arriv ing from dif fer ent cells is ana lyzed and for -
ward ed to var i ous cere bral struc tures, where the nature and ori gin of
the smell are deter mined. In order for a sig nal to start to go to the brain,
it is enough for just part of the mol e cule to fit its pre de ter mined area.

Nasal bulb Scent nerve

Epithelial cells
Olfactory cell
Olfactory micro-hairs
Gas mol e cu les

There are some 50 mil lion nerve cells on the nasal mem brane. These cells pos sess
var i ous geo met ri cal shapes to be com pat i ble with scent mol e cu les. The scent mol e -
cu les can attach to the pro tein suit ed to their own shape and ini ti ate polar i za tion.
This pro du ces an elec tri cal cur rent, and these sig nals are sent to var i ous cere bral
struc tures, where the nature and iden ti ty of the smell is deter mined.

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