Recent Discovery, Misconception Corrected

Humans can distinguish about one trillion different scents, a figure published in a 2014 study by Bushdid et al., dramatically higher than the previous estimate of only 10,000 scents.

Discoverer / Person

Andreas Keller, Leslie B. Vosshall (Bushdid et al.)

Year Discovered

2014

Field

Neuroscience, Sensory Biology

Evidence Quality

Well-Documented

Why It Matters

This recent finding showcases the extraordinary sensitivity and discriminatory power of the human olfactory system, far surpassing previous scientific understanding.

Source Consensus

1 sources agreed

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