Unlike the primary sensory brain areas that process sights and sounds, the one that decodes scents also responds to other stimuli, such as images and words associated with an odor, according to a study published today in Nature.

The extent to which neurons in the primary olfactory cortex, which includes the piriform cortex, respond to non-odor stimuli was surprising, says Marc Spehr, head of the Chemosensation Laboratory at RWTH Aachen University, who co-led the study. One neuron, for example, which activated in response to the scent of black licorice, also responded to the word “licorice,” images of the candy and the odor of anise seed, which is unrelated but has a similar scent.

— Read more in Double-duty neurons in primary olfactory cortex pick up on more than just scent at The Transmitter.

Our ability to detect odours – and how strong or pleasant we find them – also depends on how those detectors work in our own individual noses. We smell a fragrance like violets when a chemical called beta-ionone binds to a detector known as OR5A1. But for about half of people, that detector simply doesn't work. You'll never be able to smell beta-ionone if you're one of them, no matter how much of it is sitting in a vial in front of you.

— Read more in The great smell-off: TikTok sparks debate on American vs European noses at BBC.

The researchers found that C. elegans can sense the odor of pathogens and get its intestinal cells ready to withstand the impending attack.

This discovery raises an intriguing question – Is there actually a smell coming off of pathogens that we can pick up on and help us fight off an infection?

— Read more in Is it possible to smell pathogens and fight them before an infection? at Earth.com.