Irritating smells alert special cells, study finds

If you cook, you know. Chop an onion and you risk crying over your cutting board as a burning sensation overwhelms your eyes and nose. Scientists do not know why certain chemical odors, like onion, ammonia and paint thinner, are so highly irritating, but new research in mice has uncovered an unexpected role for specific nasal cavity cells. Researchers funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, describe this work in the March issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology.