Linda B. Buck

Linda B. Buck is an American biologist who shared the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering odorant receptors and explaining how the olfactory system works.

Richard Axel: Richard Axel is an American neuroscientist who shared the 2004 Nobel Prize for discoveries about odorant receptors and olfactory organization. Axel and Buck jointly identified the large family of odorant receptor genes.
Olfactory receptor: An olfactory receptor is a protein in sensory neurons that detects odor molecules and initiates neural signaling. Buck and Axel identified the genes encoding this receptor family.
Olfaction: Olfaction is the sense by which organisms detect and distinguish airborne chemicals. Buck’s research addressed how this sensory system recognizes the immense variety of odors.
Human olfactory receptor genes: Human olfactory receptor genes encode proteins that detect odorants, with many genes inactive or variable among individuals. The receptor gene family Buck helped discover became a framework for studying human smell.
Solomon H. Snyder: Solomon H. Snyder is an American neuroscientist known for research on neurotransmitters, receptors, and brain chemistry. Buck trained in Snyder’s laboratory, where molecular approaches shaped her research.
Olfactory sensory neuron: An olfactory sensory neuron is a specialized nerve cell that detects odorants and sends signals to the brain. Each neuron expresses a restricted receptor type, a pattern Buck helped establish.
Odorant: An odorant is a chemical molecule capable of stimulating the sense of smell. Odorants bind receptor proteins, the first step in the mechanism Buck investigated.
Olfactory receptor pseudogene: An olfactory receptor pseudogene is a DNA sequence resembling a receptor gene but unable to produce a functional receptor. Variation in functional and inactive receptor genes helps explain differences in odor sensitivity.
George H. Hitchings: George H. Hitchings was an American pharmacologist who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Buck’s early research training included work in Hitchings’s laboratory.
Olfactory bulb: The olfactory bulb is a brain structure that receives and processes input from olfactory sensory neurons. Buck’s work helped explain how receptor-defined neurons converge into organized bulb circuits.

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