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."

Hmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Does that mean that Schroedinger's cat may or may not smell like a corpse if it's dead?

So... Umm...

[vertinox]

If I haven't gotten a whiff of my cat's litter yet, it is in neither state of smelling fresh or stinky?

Or if it does smell stinky, I can be certain in another universe it smells like roses?

Can I be the first to say...

[ErikTheRed]

... I think this theory really stinks.

Smelloscope

[Khammurabi]

The whole idea of quantum smelling immediately brought Futurama to mind:

Cubert: I didn't realize you were the inventor of the junk heap!

Prof.: That's my price-winning Smelloscope. If a dog craps anywhere in the universe, you can bet I won't be out of the loop. And this is my Universal Translator. Unfortunately, it only translates into an incomprehensible dead language.

Cubert: Hello.

Translator: Bonjour.

Prof.: Crazy gibberish!

Re:Raised eyebrows...

[morgan_greywolf]

On the other hand, if it turns out to be true, it has far-reaching implications

Sure! It means that the smeller has an effect on the smelled! It also explains why Schroedinger never took into account the SMELL of that both dead and alive cat...

Re:sometimes I feel like I was born too late

[Tyger]

Besides if you are 30, by the time you are 70 it will be 2076 and if you consider all the progress made from 1906 to 1946 it will be at least interesting.

Wow, a post from the future! What's it like in 2036?

Nose candy

[HTH NE1]

His scents sense makes cents.

Really? To me, "putting his money where his nose is," is more easily interpreted as a euphemism meaning he's addicted to cocaine, and thus is a turn of phrase that should be avoided unless you want to be sued.

Maybe the sense of taste is as well?

[Sperlock]

If this is true for the sense of taste as well, it would explain why so many things taste like chicken.

Re:Raised eyebrows...

[Anonymous Coward]

> Evolution isn't magic.

Quite right! ...it's creation that's magic.

Moo

[Chacham]

I both agree and disagree with this article, and although it looks good, it smells bad.

I think i'll ask my cat what it's all about.

Re:Raised eyebrows...

[mrogers]

I've been saying this all along! Whoever smelt it dealt it.

Unfortunately the Uncertainty Principle states that you can't simultaneously know what a fart smells like and where it came from. That explains why your own farts never smell as bad.