Molecular structure predicts specific odor

REHOVOT, Israel, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- An Israeli-led study has determined the pleasantness of an odor can be predicted from its molecular structure.

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel and researchers at the University of California-Berkeley discovered the link between what makes one odor pleasant and another odious.

The study, led by Weizmann Professor Noam Sobel, is said to represent a first step in understanding the physical laws that underlie our perception of odors.

"Our findings show that the way we perceive smells is at least partially hard-wired in the brain," said Sobel. "Although there is a certain amount of flexibility, and our life experience certainly influences our perception of smell, a large part of our sense of whether an odor is pleasant or unpleasant is due to a real order in the physical world.

"Thus, we can now use chemistry to predict the perception of the smells of new substances."

The findings appeared last week in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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