The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2004

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2004

 

Species differences

The area of the olfactory epithelium (red) in dogs is some forty times larger than in humans. Mice – the species Axel and Buck studied – have about one thousand different odorant receptor types.

Humans have a smaller number than mice; some of the genes have been lost during evolution. There are several millions of olfactory receptor cells in our olfactory epithelium.

species

Contents:

| The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2004 | The olfactory system | A large family of odorant receptors | A large gene family | The organization of odorant receptor inputs in the olfactory cortex | Combinatorial receptor codes | Species differences | Credits |

Nobel Poster from the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, web adapted by Nobel Web

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2004. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Tue. 5 Dec 2023. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2004/7441-the-nobel-prize-in-physiology-or-medicine-2004-2004-6/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Streams during Nobel Week

Coming up

Watch the 2023 Nobel Prize lectures, the Nobel Prize Concert, Nobel Week Dialogue, the prize award ceremonies in Oslo and Stockholm and Nobel Peace Prize Forum here at nobelprize.org.
Watch lectures and award ceremonies

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.