Aritcle: The Human Sense of Smell: Are We Better Than We Think?
Summary:
It has become a common belief among people that humans possess a poor sense of smell. This conclusion has been supported by the evidence that over time there has been a reduction in olfactory receptor genes (that dictate the detection of odor particles contributing to smell), significant reduction of the human snout over time in order to increase depth perception, meaning that as sight increased the sense of smell decreased. However, recent indicators in nasal structure, olfactory brain functions, and other factors have led to the theory that humans have only a poorer sense of smell in relation to other mammals as humans have fewer olfactory receptor genes. In contrast to other animals, and even other mammals, humans have a very good sense of smell, and have even been proven to detect long chains of odors better than dogs, as well as being able to discern flavors and scents better than many other animals. These studies have shown that overtime, even as humans have evolved to gain better vision and have lost olfactory receptors, evolution has given humans a high sensitivity to smells, regardless of the number of olfactory receptors.
Relevance:
We have recently been discussing evolution and natural selection in class, relating it both to other human beings and species that have been under observation by Darwin. The reduction in the number of olfactory receptors over time while the depth perception of vision has increased is probably an evolutionary factor, meaning that natural selection weeded out the individuals who could survive better due to their enhanced vision, and overtime, we were the cause of the evolution that gave us these traits.
Citation:
Shepard, Gordon M. "The Human Sense of Smell: Are We Better Than We Think?" PLOS Biology::
N.p., 11 May 2004. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.
What are the benefits of humans having a good sense of smell in terms of natural selection?
ReplyDeleteThe sense of smell allows a human to better judge the quality of the food it is eating, for example, if no visible contamination is detected, yet the foodstuff in question smells bad. In this case, the sense of smell would allow a human to properly judge its food quality to keep itself alive when talking about toxic food.
DeleteDo you think discerning the difference between different scents is more of a learned skill (practice makes perfect) or a born ability (some people just have it and some don't) ?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the ability to discern between scents is a learned skill, however, the ability to smell itself depends largely on the number of olfactory gene receptors, making it a born ability.
Delete