Study: Humans Can Detect 1 Trillion Smells

Humans have long been thought to have a relatively weak sense of smell. But a team of U.S. scientists has put that theory to rest. Researchers from Rockefeller University in New York have determined that humans can detect 1 trillion smells. They carried out their research by taking 128 different odor molecules and had volunteers sniff mixtures using 10, 20 or 30 of the odors.Until now, most scientists believed the human sense of smell was limited to 10,000 odors.The researchers say their...

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