It has been proposed that the opponent process model, known to be important to color vision, might also apply to some if not all of the other senses, including olfaction. In the course of formulating my own perfumes, I have gathered a collection of essential oils (EOs), fragrance oils (FOs), and aroma compounds. Through trial […]
Read MoreSome of the known ligands for OR1A1 have been processed by the automated server, under the assumption that the EXR2 domain includes a zinc binding site, and that this zinc ion participates in odorant detection. Preliminary results have been obtained, consisting of correlation coefficients and p values for a number of metrics of OR perturbation […]
Read MoreVideo shows predicted binding of human OR1A1 to allyl phenylacetate, assuming a zinc binding site consisting of ASN176, CYS179, and ASP180.
Read MoreIt has been known for a long time that zinc is necessary for olfaction in humans, that zinc deficiency reversibly causes anosmia, and that too much zinc can cause permanent anosmia, as can cadmium, a very toxic analog of zinc. Research has been done into the role of metals in mammalian olfaction; one study identified […]
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