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Sense of Smell Tied To Quantum Physics?

SpaceAdmiral writes "A controversial theory that proposes that our sense of smell is based not on the shape of the molecules that enter our nose but on their vibrations was given a boost recently when University College London researchers determined that the quantum physics involved makes sense. The theory, proposed in the mid-1990s by biophysicist Luca Turin, suggests that electron tunneling initiates the smell signal being sent to the brain. It could explain why similarly shaped molecules can have very different smells, and molecules with very different structures can smell similar." Turin has now formed a company to design odorants using his theory, and claims an advantage over the competition of two orders of magnitude in rate of discovery. The article concludes, "At the very least, he is putting his money where his nose is."

3 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. Imagine the Implications! by ArcherB · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    This means that my ass can change the quantum state of that burrito I had for lunch!

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  2. Shouldn't that be... by TheWoozle · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    ...this theory makes scents?

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  3. Re:Raised eyebrows... by morcego · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Disregarding how much offtopic this is, and the "religion" side of the issue, it was well proven that some parts of the bible, even tho historically correct, used very different measures and symbology.
    On example is Methuselah, said to have lived 969 years. There are some historical records proving that, by the time it was written, "1 year" meant something very different than "one rotation of earth around the sun".
    Also, in the early bible, the number 7 was always used to represent some "undefined number of holy significance". There are some very interesting studies on the "why" for the number 7 (tip: 3 + 4) that are worth reading too.

    I have had some very interesting discussions on these (and other) subject with several catholic biblical scholars, and both these facts I mentioned above are widely accepted (and in same cases, as with Methuselah proven) by the church.

    That said, only some stupid pseudo-christian idiot would take that by the letter without analyzing the context. Contrary to what is made believe by many ignorant people, the bible has many historical truths there (extra points for researching the opening of the red sea by Moses).

    Please don't take this post in the religious sense (I'm not catholic or a religious person), but on the historical sense only.

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    morcego