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Amazing facts you didn’t know about your nose

Amazing facts you didn’t know about your nose

It's time to stop taking our noses for granted.

Similar to our senses of sound, sight, touch and taste, we are so used to smelling with our noses on a daily basis that we simply fail to realize how remarkable this one little body part can be.

But did you know that our noses can help us fall in love and even detect danger? Not to mention that it carries a host of protective health benefits.

With that in mind, here are five cool facts you might not know about your nose.

We can detect one trillion scents

A recent study suggests that the human nose is far more adept at distinguishing scents than previously thought. While scientists once estimated that we could smell 10,000 odours, they now suspect we can smell one trillion.

We can smell fear and other emotions

Research shows that we can detect a range of emotions by smelling the scent of a person. That's right, we can sense another person's fear, sexual arousal or disgust simply by sniffing an item of their clothing or their sweat.

Snot protects us from sickness and allergies

As air passes through our nose, the mucus that lines the nasal cavity catches dust and bacteria that could otherwise make us sick or cause allergies. If the air outside is dry, it causes the mucus to harden and form snot or boogers. So while we may find snot irritating, it is serving an important function.

Baby odour may be addictive

Recent research from the University of Montreal shows that the scent of a newborn baby activates the pleasure centers of a woman’s brain, stimulating the production of dopamine -- a chemical that also becomes active when people eat delicious food or take addictive drugs.

We can sniff out fat in our food

A new study has found that people can smell varying levels of fat in milk, leading the researchers to conclude that their study can help develop new ways of using scents to make low-fat foods more appealing.