Shape changes in aroma-producing molecules determine the fragrances we detect

Shakespeare wrote 'a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' But would it if the molecules that generate its fragrance were to change their shape? That's what Dr Kevin Ryan, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at The City College of New York (CCNY) and collaborators in the laboratory of Dr Stuart Firestein, Professor of Biology at Columbia University, set out to investigate. Their findings, reported today in the journal 'Chemistry and Biology,' shed new insight into how our sense of smell works and have potential applications in the design of flavours and fragrances...

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