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This Just In: People Smell

Posted by timothy on from the nasal-gazing dept.

SAPHRguru writes "New Scientist reports (10 Nov) that researchers may have taken a big step towards solving the mystery of how humans detect pheromones... we do it through our noses! Strange, I always thought I responded to chemical cues through my mouth (especially in brownies)!"

1 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Re:No VMO in humans? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative
    From the two links:

    These morphologic findings, which are unique in the human body, suggest that a chemosensory epithelium corresponding to a vomeronasal organ may exist


    There is no evidence for true vomeronasal sensory nerves connecting the organ to the brain.


    So, according to your links, people believed that it maybe exists (or maybe not), but probably doesn't connect to the brain. If people respond to pheromones, then either they must perceive them by a different route, or there must be nerves that have been overlooked. Either would be important news.