All this complex signal processing means that we can distinguish among thousands of different odor molecules. (discovermagazine.com)
A given receptor can snag a number of different odor molecules, and a given odor molecule can latch onto several different receptors. (discovermagazine.com)
Humans can smell so many different odors because they have over 1000 different receptor proteins on neurons in the nose, each of which recognizes a particular chemical feature of some odor molecules. (sciencemag.org)