Scienceis enormous. Studies havebeen carried out to placethese aromas into variouscategories. But due tothe extraordinary varietyof smells, no satisfactoryclassification has ever beenachieved. iThe microscopic variationbetween molecules givesany one smell its particularcharacteristics. (Figure 1)For example, the featurethat differentiates a cooked,fresh egg from a rottenone lies in the structuresof the particles the twoeggs give off. Differencesin the chemical structuresbetween various moleculesare based, in turn, on verydelicate variations.ii Indeed,the addition or subtractionof a single carbon atom canturn an attractive smell into arepellent one!The design in every point inthe universe can immediatelybe seen in the structures ofscent molecules. The uniquearomas of cocoa, lavenderor strawberry are the resultsof the molecules that giverise to these smells, and to54An Islamic Periodical Magazine - Issue No 18 June 2010
Sciencethe specially arranged bondsamong them. Every moleculehas been planned in lightof a specific purpose, in theexactly the form it needs tobe. There is no doubt that thismagnificent design belongsto God, Who createdeverything and determinedit most exactly. (Surat al-Furqan: 2)Engineering in the NoseWhen the olfactory, orscent-perceiving, organis mentioned, the noseimmediately comes to mind.However, very few are awarethat as little as 5% of thenose is actually involved inthe perception of scents.iiiGordon Shepherd, professorof neuroscience at YaleUniversity emphasized thetruth of this when he wrote,“we think that we smell withour noses, [but] this is a littlelike saying that we hear withour ear lobes.”The following pages shallexamine that part of thenose concerned with scentperception. First, however,we should make a briefreference to the other 95%,which undertakes twomajor responsibilities onbehalf of your respiratorysystem. The first of these isto warm and moisturize theair you inhale. The mucuslayer covering the interiorsurface of the nose releaseswater vapor to moisture theair that enters. The largenumbers of capillary vesselsimmediately beneath themucus layer also warm thepassing air, adapting it tothe sensitive structure ofthe lungs. The mechanismin question resembles theair conditioning systemthat regulates the levels oftemperature and humidity inbuildings.The second importantfunction of the nose is tohalt dust particles, bacteriaand germs, thus acting as ascreen to diseases that mightotherwise reach the lungs.This is how this splendidsecurity system functions:Harmful particles that enterwith the air are trapped bythe mucus layer. Then tinyhairs known as cilia go intoaction. (Figure 2) They propelmucus containing harmfulsubstances at a speed of 1centimeter (0.4 inches) perminute toward the pharynx,where it is either expelled bycoughing or else destroyedby gastric acids.These processes, heredescribed in general terms,are in fact so exceedinglycomplex that the detailsof the mechanism bywhich millions of microhairsoperate as a singleentity has still not been fullyunderstood. The mucuslayer, mucus-producing cellsand micro-hairs comprise aperfect chemical purificationplant that works so flawlesslythat it immediately identifieswhat is essential to the bodyand what is dangerous toit, and takes the necessaryactions.One truth is very apparenthere: The air-conditioning,security and purificationmechanisms in the noseare all examples of perfectengineering. It cannotpossibly be imagined thatcirculatory, respiratoryand digestive system cellsagreed to cooperate amongthemselves and draw upplans like engineers. It isalso impossible for thesystems in question to havecome about as the resultof coincidences and toproduce the aestheticallypleasing human face. It isrevealed in verses that GodIt is revealed inverses that Godcreated everything,from the Earth tothe skies, with itsperfection of designcreated everything, fromthe Earth to the skies, with itsperfection of design:. . . Everything in the heavensand Earth belongs to Him.Everything is obedient to Him,the Originator of the heavensand Earth. When He decideson something, He just saysto it, ‘Be!’And it is. (Surat al-Baqara: 116- 7)The Nose’s ChemicalAnalysis FacilityYou breathe an averageof 23,040 times each day.vDuring this constantlyrepeated process, your noseadapts air for the lungs in themost appropriate manner. Indoing so, it performs anothervery important task: It detectsand monitors odors.The total population of a sniffis a billion trillion molecules,nearly all of them normallyin the mix we call air. Thescent particles, far too smallto be seen with the nakedeye, are contained withinthis enormous quantityof molecules. After youhave breathed in, specialturbinate bones in the nosedirect a portion of that air tothe scent-perceiving region.In this way, scent moleculesarrive at a region in theupper part of the nasalcavity, some 7 centimetersAn Islamic Periodical Magazine - Issue No 18 June 2010 55
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