Volatile Organic Compounds Content

How Plants Sense Scent

Andy Fell — April 25, 2024 - 4:10pm

Plants need to be able to communicate with themselves, for example sending signals from their leaves to their roots or flowers, so that they can coordinate growth and optimize resource use. They also need to communicate with other plants and organisms, which they achieve by releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), tiny molecules that are often associated with distinct smells. Scientists know a lot about how plants emit these odorous signals, however very little is known about how they receive and interpret them.

More Than Meows: How Bacteria Help Cats Communicate

Andy Fell — November 15, 2023 - 10:15am

Many mammals, from domestic cats and dogs to giant pandas, use scent to communicate with each other. A new study from the University of California, Davis, shows how domestic cats send signals to each other using odors derived from families of bacteria living in their anal glands. The work was published Nov. 8 in Scientific Reports.

Sexing Chicken Eggs by Scent

Andy Fell — May 22, 2023 - 11:00am

Fertilized chicken eggs can be sexed by “sniffing” volatile chemicals emitted through the shell, according to new work by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and Sensit Ventures Inc., a startup company in Davis. The work is published May 22 in PLOS ONE.

Consumer, Industrial Products Overtake Transportation as Source of Urban Air Pollution

Andy Fell — February 15, 2018 - 4:17pm

Consumer products such as shampoo, cleaning products and paint now contribute as much to urban air pollution as tailpipe emissions from vehicles, according to a new study led by NOAA and including researchers at the University of California, Davis. The results are published Feb. 16 in the journal Science.