Olfactory receptors are a type of G protein-coupled receptor in olfactory receptor neurons. In vertebrates, the olfactory receptors are located in the olfactory epithelium. In insects, olfactory receptors are located on the antennae. Sperm cells also express odor receptors, which are thought to be involved in chemotaxis to find the egg cell. In cell biology, G-protein-coupled receptors, also known as GPCR, seven transmembrane receptors, heptahelical receptors, or 7TM receptors, are a class of transmembrane receptors. ... An olfactory receptor neuron, also called an olfactory sensory neuron, is the primary transduction cell for olfaction in the olfactory system. ... Vertebrata is a subphylum of chordates, specifically, those with backbones or spinal columns. ... The olfactory epithelium is a specialized epithelial tissue inside the nasal cavity that is involved in smell. ... Classes & Orders See taxonomy Insects are invertebrate animals of the Class Insecta, the largest and (on land) most widely-distributed taxon within the phylum Arthropoda. ... Antennae (singular antenna), are the paired appendages connecting to the first (and in crustaceans also to the second) segment of the head of the members of all subphyla of the arthropods except Chelicerata. ... The signifier sperm can refer to: (mass noun, from Greek sperma = seed) a substance which consists of spermatozoa and which is a component of semen (mass noun) semen itself (informally, count noun with plural sperm or sperms) a single spermatozoon (= sperm cell) sperma ceti (Latin ceti, genitive of cetus = whale... Chemotaxis is the phenomenon in which bodily cells, bacteria, and other single-cell or multicellular organisms direct their movements according to certain chemicals in their environment. ... For the video-related acronym, see OVA. A human ovum An ovum (or loosely, egg or egg cell) is a female sex cell or gamete. ...

Rather than binding to specific ligands like most receptors, olfactory receptors bind to structures on odor molecules. Once the odorant has bound to the odor receptor, the receptor activates the attached G protein on the inside of the olfactory receptor neuron. The G protein in turn activates adenylate cyclase which converts ATP to cyclic AMP(cAMP). The Camp opens ion channels which allow sodium ions into the cell, depolarizing the olfactory receptor neuron and beginning an action potential which carries the information to the brain. In biochemistry, a receptor is a protein on the cell membrane or within the cytoplasm or cell nucleus that binds to a specific molecule (a ligand), such as a neurotransmitter, hormone, or other substance, and initiates the cellular response to the ligand. ... JUNIOR Odor receptors on the antennae of a Luna moth An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English) is the object of perception of the sense of olfaction. ... G-proteins, short for guanine nucleotide binding proteins, are a family of proteins involved in second messenger cascades. ... Adenylate cyclase (EC 4. ... Adenosine 5-triphosphate (ATP) is a multifunctional nucleotide primarily known in biochemistry as the molecular currency of intracellular energy transfer. ... Structure of cAMP Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP, cyclic AMP or 3-5-cyclic adenosine monophosphate) is a molecule that is important in many biological processes; it is derived from adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ... Another, unrelated ion channeling process is part of ion implantation. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sodium, Na, 11 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 22. ... // An ion is an atom, group of atoms, or subatomic particle with a net electric charge. ... A. A schematic view of an idealized action potential illustrates its various phases as the action potential passes a point on a cell membrane. ... Comparative brain sizes In animals, the brain, or encephalon (Greek for in the head), is the control center of the central nervous system. ...

There are a wide range of different odor receptors, with as many as 1000 in the mammalian genome. Olfactory receptors may make up as much as 3% of the genome. Only a portion of these potential genes form functional odor receptors. According to an analysis of the Human genome project, humans have 347 functional genes coding for olfactory receptors. The reason for the large number of different odor receptors is to provide a system for detecting as many different odors as possible. Even so, each odor receptor does not correspond to just one odor. Each individual odor receptor is broadly tuned to be activated by a number of similar structures. Like the immune system, this system allows molecules that have never been encountered before to be characterized. Also most odors activate more than one type of odor receptor. This aspect provides for the identification of an almost limitless number of different molecules. In biology the genome of an organism is the whole hereditary information of an organism that is encoded in the DNA (or, for some viruses, RNA). ... The Human Genome Project (HGP) endeavoured to map the human genome down to the nucleotide (or base pair) level and to identify all the genes present in it. ... This stylistic schematic diagram shows a gene in relation to the double helix structure of DNA and to a chromosome (right). ... The immune system is the system of specialized cells and organs that protect an organism from outside biological influences. ...

In 2004 Linda B. Buck and Richard Axel won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on olfactory receptors. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Linda B. Buck, Ph. ... Richard Axel, M.D. (born July 2, 1946, New York City) is an American scientist whose work on the olfactory system won him and Linda B. Buck, then a post-doctoral scientist in his research group, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004. ... List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physiology or Medicine from 1901 to the present day. ...