Feature Neuroscience

Year in review: The nose knows a trillion odors

Scent tests show precision of human olfactory power

nose

THE NOSE KNOWS Humans can suss out more than 1 trillion different smells, a 2014 study estimated.

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By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

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In the movie Roxanne, Steve Martin plays a lovesick guy who mocks his own huge schnoz by declaring: “It’s not the size of a nose that’s important.