"Every molecule will activate a combination of receptors. To give a hypothetical example, vanillin may activate receptors 73, 115 and 299, the activation of the

"Every molecule will activate a combination of receptors. To give a hypothetical example, vanillin may activate receptors 73, 115 and 299, the activation of the receptor combination 73, 115, 299 therefore signals to the brain that vanillin molecules are being encountered. This is known as the “combinatorial code” of olfaction: each type of odor molecule activates several receptors, and each receptor is activated by several types of odor molecules, resulting in a unique combination of activated receptors for each type of odor molecule." TIL: olfactory nerves implement a bloom filter. A quick google reveals that the link between olfactory neuron encodings and bloom filters is known: https://www.salk.edu/news-release/to-detect-new-odors-fruit-fly-brains-improve-on-a-well-known-computer-algorithm/ https://www.salk.edu/news-release/to-detect-new-odors-fruit-...