Do you smell what I smell?

(Monell Chemical Senses Center) A new study from the Monell Center and collaborating institutions sheds light on understanding the extensive individual differences in how we sense odors. By showing that small changes in a single olfactory receptor gene can affect how strong and pleasant a person finds an odor, the findings expand understanding of how olfactory receptors in the nose encode information about the properties of odors even before that information reaches the brain.