Science Briefs – The Better to Smell You With? Maybe Not…

Click here to read the complete article
260 – February, 2026

By Caroline Coile

The Bloodhound is the acknowledged king of scent. The reason (supposedly) lies in its large number of olfactory receptors distributed in the olfactory epithelium along the intricate, maze-like scrolls of nasal turbinates. The Bloodhound’s deep muzzle has more room for more scrolling, and thus, more olfactory receptors. Each receptor sends its signal along a long nerve through a bony plate called the cribiform plate, and then to the olfactory bulb of the brain. It’s not practical to measure the surface area of the olfactory epithelium, but you can get a good estimate of the number of nerve cells by looking at how large the cribriform plate is. It turns out that cribriform plate size correlates very nicely with a species’ sense of smell.

It also correlates very well with the number of olfactory receptor genes. One odor molecule can activate several different olfactory receptors, while any given receptor can be activated by several different odor molecules. The olfactory system somehow interprets these receptor activation patterns to recognize the presence, and intensity of millions of different smells.

These are specialized sensor proteins that determine what olfactory receptors in the nose will respond to what odor molecules. The more olfactory receptor genes, the larger the cribriform plate–and the better the sense of smell.

Previous research has shown that the domestic dog has both a comparatively smaller cribriform plate (taking body size into account) and fewer olfactory receptor genes compared to wolves. This comes as no surprise, as domestication tends to cause decreases in apparatus that are metabolically costly to maintain, and not really needed to survive.

Click here to read the complete article
260 – February, 2026

Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=348810

Posted by AnthonyA on Feb 9 2026. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.