Researchers have finally seen how some smell receptors bind to odor molecules

Re:Researchers have finally seen how some smell receptors bi... by shoto_io on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @05:11PM (#27610431)

Is this in any way support for the "Vibration theory of olfaction"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibration_theory_of_olfaction

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Re:Researchers have finally seen how some smell receptors bi... by beebeepka on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @06:17PM (#27611243)

Thanks to your link, I discovered this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docking_theory_of_olfaction

Had no idea it's just a theory. I've lived many years "knowing" that we detect smells due to their shapes.

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Re:Researchers have finally seen how some smell receptors bi... by Duller-Finite on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @06:41PM (#27611481)

This paper is the first structure of any odorant receptor-ligand interaction. There's currently no equivalent structure for mammalian odorant receptors to validate the docking theory, but it's likely correct.

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Re:Researchers have finally seen how some smell receptors bi... by dr_dshiv on Friday June 25, 2021 @09:13PM (#27638113)

I'm dying because there is some mid 1800s theory of smell that uses vibration and harmony, metaphorically, and I can't find it.

But while searching, I came across this: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21150046

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