'Olfactory Fingerprint' Reveals Humans' Unique Sense of Smell

Did you know that your sense of smell is completely unique to you? Now, scientists have mapped the distribution of people's smell receptors in order to better understand individual sense of smell-something that's called the "olfactory fingerprint."

Each of us has about six million smell receptors in our nose of around four hundred different times. The distribution of these smell receptors, though, varies from person to person.

In order to better understand how sense of smell varies, the researchers asked volunteers to rate 28 different smells according to 54 descriptive words. For example, "lemony" and "masculine" were among the words. The scientists then developed a complex, multidimensional mathematical formula for determining, based on ratings, how similar any two odors were to one another in the human sense of smell. The strength of the formula was that it did not require subjects to agree on the use and applicability of any given verbal descriptor.

The 28 odors made for 378 different pairs, each with a different level of similarity. This, in turn, created a 378-dimensional "smell" fingerprint. In the end, the scientists found that each individual had a unique pattern, resulting in an olfactory fingerprint.

So what implications does this have? It could be that our olfactory fingerprint may tie in with the immune system. For example, the researchers found that an immune antigen called HLA is correlated with certain olfactory fingerprints. That said, more research needs to be conducted before the scientists can say whether or not this is the case.

The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Related Stories

Scientists Create the First Ever Perfume that Smells Better the More You Sweat

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).