Why is it that wines can be described as tasting of other fruits, such as melons or strawberries? Why do some stouts taste of coffee or chocolate (excluding, of course,those where these ingredients have been added)? My ideas were- -small amounts of identical compounds can be found in both foods. -they each contain distinct compounds, but whose molecules share some homology, so activate the same olfactory receptors -the compounds are different but the same olfactory receptors can be activated by a small range different ligands. I wonder if a flavorist or someone who knows lots about olfaction could clear this up for me.

I understand that there are no pain receptors in the brain, so people undergoing brain surgery can be alert, with anaesthetic administered only locally to the scalp.

If this is so, how do we experience the pain of headaches and migraines, especially those that seem to come from a specific point inside the head and which throb and radiate from that point?

Sophie Yauner, By email, no address supplied