[shoto_io]

Is this in any way support for the "Vibration theory of olfaction"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibration_theory_of_olfaction

[beebeepka]

Thanks to your link, I discovered this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docking_theory_of_olfaction

Had no idea it's just a theory. I've lived many years "knowing" that we detect smells due to their shapes.

[Duller-Finite]

This paper is the first structure of any odorant receptor-ligand interaction. There's currently no equivalent structure for mammalian odorant receptors to validate the docking theory, but it's likely correct.

[dr_dshiv]

I'm dying because there is some mid 1800s theory of smell that uses vibration and harmony, metaphorically, and I can't find it.

But while searching, I came across this: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-21150046