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　　Rogue theory of smell gets a boost

　　1. A controversial theory of how we smell， which claims that our fine sense
of odour depends on quantum mechanics， has been given the thumbs up by a team of
physicists.

　　2. Calculations by researchers at University College London (UCL) show that
the idea that we smell odour molecules by sensing their molecular vibrations
makes sense in terms of the physics involved.

　　3. That’s still some way from proving that the theory， proposed in the
mid-1990s by biophysicist Luca Turin， is correct. But it should make other
scientists take the idea more seriously.

　　4. “This is a big step forward，” says Turin， who has now set up his own
perfume company Flexitral in Virginia. He says that since he published his
theory， “it has been ignored rather than criticized.”

　　5. Most scientists have assumed that our sense of smell depends on
receptors in the nose detecting the shape of incoming molecules， which triggers
a signal to the brain. This molecular ’lock and key’ process is thought to lie
behind a wide range of the body’s detection systems： it is how some parts of the
immune system recognise invaders， for example， and how the tongue recognizes
some tastes.

　　6. But Turin argued that smell doesn’t seem to fit this picture very well.
Molecules that look almost identical can smell very different — such as
alcohols， which smell like spirits， and thiols， which smell like rotten eggs.
And molecules with very different structures can smell similar. Most strikingly，
some molecules can smell different — to animals， if not necessarily to humans —
simply because they contain different isotopes (atoms that are chemically
identical but have a different mass)。

　　7. Turin’s explanation for these smelly facts invokes the idea that the
smell signal in olfactory receptor proteins is triggered not by an odour
molecule’s shape， but by its vibrations， which can enourage an electron to jump
between two parts of the receptor in a quantum-mechanical process called
tunnelling. This electron movement could initiate the smell signal being sent to
the brain.

　　8. This would explain why isotopes can smell different： their vibration
frequencies are changed if the atoms are heavier. Turin’s mechanism， says
Marshall Stoneham of the UCL team， is more like swipe-card identification than a
key fitting a lock.

　　9. Vibration-assisted electron tunnelling can undoubtedly occur — it is
used in an experimental technique for measuring molecular vibrations. “The
question is whether this is possible in the nose，” says Stoneham’s colleague，
Andrew Horsfield.

　　10. Stoneham says that when he first heard about Turin’s idea， while Turin
was himself based at UCL， “I didn’t believe it”。 But， he adds， “because it was
an interesting idea， I thought I should prove it couldn’t work. I did some
simple calculations， and only then began to feel Luca could be right.” Now
Stoneham and his co-workers have done the job more thoroughly， in a paper soon
to be published in Physical Review Letters.

　　11. The UCL team calculated the rates of electron hopping in a nose
receptor that has an odorant molecule bound to it. This rate depends on various
properties of the biomolecular system that are not known， but the researchers
could estimate these parameters based on typical values for molecules of this
sort.

　　12. The key issue is whether the hopping rate with the odorant in place is
significantly greater than that without it. The calculations show that it is —
which means that odour identification in this way seems theoretically
possible.

　　13. But Horsfield stresses that that’s different from a proof of Turin’s
idea. “So far things look plausible， but we need proper experimental
verification. We’re beginning to think about what experiments could be
performed.”

　　14. Meanwhile， Turin is pressing ahead with his hypothesis. “At Flexitral
we have been designing odorants exclusively on the basis of their computed
vibrations，” he says. “Our success rate at odorant discovery is two orders of
magnitude better than the competition.” At the very least， he is putting his
money where his nose is.

　　(668 words Nature)

　　Questions 1-4

　　Do the following statements agree with the information given in the
passage? Please write

　　TRUE if the statement agrees with the writer

　　FALSE if the statement does not agree with the writer

　　NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage

　　1. The result of the study at UCL agrees with Turin’s theory.

　　2. The study at UCL could conclusively prove what Luca Turin has
hypothesized.

　　3. Turin left his post at UCL and started his own business because his
theory was ignored.

　　4. The molecules of alcohols and those of thiols look alike.

　　Questions 5-9

　　Complete the sentences below with words from the passage. Use NO MORE THAN
THREE WORDS for each answer.

　　5. The hypothesis that we smell by sensing the molecular vibration was made
by ______.

　　6. Turin’s company is based in ______.

　　7. Most scientists believed that our nose works in the same way as our
______.

　　8. Different isotopes can smell different when ______ weigh
differently.

　　9. According to Audrew Horsfield， it is still to be proved that ______
could really occur in human nose.

　　Question 10-12

　　Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage
for each answer.

　　10. What’s the name of the researcher who collaborated with Stoneham?

　　11. What is the next step of the UCL team’s study?

　　12. What is the theoretical basis in designing odorants in Turin’s
company?

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