Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 5, 1991                   TAG: 9104050303
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Short

BIOLOGISTS UNCOVER GENETIC KEY TO SMELL

They have identified what they believe are 18 of the genes that enable the nose to latch on to the fragrant oils of the rose and distinguish them from tens of thousands of other smells.

"It's a bombshell," said Charles Wysocki of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. "It's something that was not expected for many years."

A report of the discovery, by Linda Buck and Richard Axel of Columbia University, will appear today in the journal Cell.

"These molecules will serve as useful tools," said Buck, for solving a variety of important scientific and practical problems.

Buck said the discovery could be the first step toward understanding how the brain's nerve cells are wired together. It also could have practical applications in such areas as insect control, she said.

Strong-smelling substances called pheromones play a role in insect behavior and reproduction, she said. Learning how those substances are detected could lead to new means of inhibiting reproduction, for example.