Neurons in mosquito antennae can express more than one olfactory receptor at a time, a redundancy that likely ensures they don’t lose a potential host’s scent.
A study that examined the brains of people before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection found a decrease in brain volume and damage to olfactory areas compared with controls.
Adult olfactory stem cells can be used to grow a smattering of cells important for smell, including scent-sniffing neurons and structurally supportive sustentacular cells.
Human vs. dog brains; widespread neuronal regeneration in human adult brain; honeybee disease strikes wild insects; trouble replicating stress-induced stem cells
Long known to play a role in sexual attraction, pheromones are revealing their influence over a range of nonsexual behaviors as researchers tease apart the neural circuitry that translates smells into action.