Unraveling the Mystery of Human Olfaction: Insights from 3D Structure of Odour Receptor.

Researchers have mapped the 3D structure of a human odour receptor for the first time, offering insights into how the most enigmatic of our senses works. The study describes an olfactory receptor called OR51E2 and shows how it ‘recognizes’ the smell of cheese through specific molecular interactions that switch the receptor on. The human genome contains genes encoding 400 olfactory receptors that detect many odours, but little is known about how these receptors detect molecules and translate them into scents.