Introduction
Smell is one of the most powerful senses you have; however, your sense of smell would be nothing without fragrance. Whether it's reminding you of someone special in your life or signaling you that your child needs a diaper change, fragrance plays an important role in how you view the environment around you.
Molecules
Fragrance begins with fragrance molecules. Everything that has a smell gives off molecules from its surface. For example, fresh-baked bread puts off a scent as molecules evaporate from its surface. These molecules travel to the nose where they can be identified. The body can then use the scent to calculate what to do with the object, or how to feel about the object.
The Nose
Fragrance revolves around your nose. When fragrance molecules enter your nose they travel to the back of the nasal cavity where a group of olfactory receptor neurons are exposed to the air passing through the nose. Reaching out from these neuron are small feelers called cilia. As fragrance molecules come into contact with these cilia, they bind to them. This activates the neurons to send a signal to the brain to identify the smell.
DNA
According to the the Fragrance Foundation's Sense of Smell Institute, the human nose can detect more than 10,000 unique fragrances. Recent discoveries by neuroscientists Richard Axel and Linda B. Buck have found that each fragrance receptor in the nasal cavity corresponds to a specific smell. This is due to each smell being genetically encoded into the receptor. When a fragrance molecule binds with its specific receptor, a reaction takes place, causing a signal to be sent from the receptor to the brain. The brain then recognizes the specific signal, and causes you to smell that particular fragrance. Depending on past experiences with the fragrance stored in your brain's memory, the fragrance may bring back positive memories for a "good" smell, or negative memories for a "bad" smell.
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