Master gene found for insect smell

Bugs use their sense of smell to find food and mates and to avoid predators. New research suggests that a single gene may be behind all that smelling in a broad range of insect species.

Many insects detect scents through odor receptors along their antennae. When a particular scent molecule matches the shape of an odor receptor, as a key fits in a lock, nerves transmit information about that smell to the brain.