The Luminescence Hypothesis of Olfaction
A new hypothesis for the mechanism of olfaction is presented. It begins with an odorant molecule binding to an olfactory receptor. This is followed by the quantum biology event of inelastic electron tunneling as has been suggested with both the vibration and swipe card theories. It is novel in that...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/3/1333 |
| _version_ | 1797623284315979776 |
|---|---|
| author | Kenneth Willeford |
| author_facet | Kenneth Willeford |
| author_sort | Kenneth Willeford |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A new hypothesis for the mechanism of olfaction is presented. It begins with an odorant molecule binding to an olfactory receptor. This is followed by the quantum biology event of inelastic electron tunneling as has been suggested with both the vibration and swipe card theories. It is novel in that it is not concerned with the possible effects of the tunneled electrons as has been discussed with the previous theories. Instead, the high energy state of the odorant molecule in the receptor following inelastic electron tunneling is considered. The hypothesis is that, as the high energy state decays, there is fluorescence luminescence with radiative emission of multiple photons. These photons pass through the supporting sustentacular cells and activate a set of olfactory neurons in near-simultaneous timing, which provides the temporal basis for the brain to interpret the required complex combinatorial coding as an odor. The Luminescence Hypothesis of Olfaction is the first to present the necessity of or mechanism for a 1:3 correspondence of odorant molecule to olfactory nerve activations. The mechanism provides for a consistent and reproducible time-based activation of sets of olfactory nerves correlated to an odor. The hypothesis has a biological precedent: an energy feasibility assessment is included, explaining the anosmia seen with COVID-19, and can be confirmed with existing laboratory techniques. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:26:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c68994e1151b4eadafdd319c51206566 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:26:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-c68994e1151b4eadafdd319c512065662023-11-16T17:59:35ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-01-01233133310.3390/s23031333The Luminescence Hypothesis of OlfactionKenneth Willeford0Coastal Carolinas Integrated Medicine, 10 Doctors Circle, STE 2, Supply, NC 28462, USAA new hypothesis for the mechanism of olfaction is presented. It begins with an odorant molecule binding to an olfactory receptor. This is followed by the quantum biology event of inelastic electron tunneling as has been suggested with both the vibration and swipe card theories. It is novel in that it is not concerned with the possible effects of the tunneled electrons as has been discussed with the previous theories. Instead, the high energy state of the odorant molecule in the receptor following inelastic electron tunneling is considered. The hypothesis is that, as the high energy state decays, there is fluorescence luminescence with radiative emission of multiple photons. These photons pass through the supporting sustentacular cells and activate a set of olfactory neurons in near-simultaneous timing, which provides the temporal basis for the brain to interpret the required complex combinatorial coding as an odor. The Luminescence Hypothesis of Olfaction is the first to present the necessity of or mechanism for a 1:3 correspondence of odorant molecule to olfactory nerve activations. The mechanism provides for a consistent and reproducible time-based activation of sets of olfactory nerves correlated to an odor. The hypothesis has a biological precedent: an energy feasibility assessment is included, explaining the anosmia seen with COVID-19, and can be confirmed with existing laboratory techniques.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/3/1333olfactionodoranttunnelingluminescencephononphoton |
| spellingShingle | Kenneth Willeford The Luminescence Hypothesis of Olfaction Sensors olfaction odorant tunneling luminescence phonon photon |
| title | The Luminescence Hypothesis of Olfaction |
| title_full | The Luminescence Hypothesis of Olfaction |
| title_fullStr | The Luminescence Hypothesis of Olfaction |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Luminescence Hypothesis of Olfaction |
| title_short | The Luminescence Hypothesis of Olfaction |
| title_sort | luminescence hypothesis of olfaction |
| topic | olfaction odorant tunneling luminescence phonon photon |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/3/1333 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kennethwilleford theluminescencehypothesisofolfaction AT kennethwilleford luminescencehypothesisofolfaction |