Here’s how the coronavirus steals the sense of smell.

Anosmia, the abrupt loss of smell that has become a well-known hallmark of the disease, is one of the many peculiarities of Covid-19. Even without a nose, covid patients lose their sense of smell and taste, which can make food taste like cardboard and coffee smell bad.

Scientists are beginning to understand the biological mechanisms that allow the coronaviruses to enter cells and cause a long debate about whether they can be transmitted at all.

Insights gleaned from new research could shed new light on how the coronavirus might affect other types of brain cells, leading to conditions like brain fog, and possibly help explain the biological mechanisms behind long Covid symptoms that linger.

The new work settles the debate over whether the coronaviruses cause any harm to the nerve cells that detect odors. The researchers found that the virus attacks other supporting cells.

The immune cells flood the region to fight the virus. The inflammation wreaks havoc on smell receptors, the cells in the nose that detect and transmit odors.

The process short-circuits the genes in those neurons.