Humans can distinguish at least 1 trillion different odors
In a world perfumed by freshly popped popcorn and exhaust fumes, where sea breezes can mingle with the scents of sweet flowers or wet paint, … Read more
odor
Combination of sensory signals draw mosquitoes in for a bite
It may seem like mosquitoes will bite anything with a pulse, but they’re actually quite strategic in picking their victims. A new study from The … Read more
Fruit flies are relentless party crashers
That fruit fly joining you just moments after you poured that first glass of cabernet, has just used its poppy-seed-sized brain to conduct a finely-choreographed … Read more
Mosquito sperm have a sense of smell
Mosquito sperm have a “sense of smell.” This unexpected discovery is reported in an article published in the online early edition of the Proceedings of … Read more
Odor receptors discovered in lungs
Your nose is not the only organ in your body that can sense cigarette smoke wafting through the air. Scientists at Washington University in St. … Read more
Sniffing Out Danger: Fearful Memories Can Trigger Heightened Sense of Smell
Most people – including scientists – assumed we can’t just sniff out danger. It was thought that we become afraid of an odor – such … Read more
How Mosquitoes Are Drawn to Human Skin and Breath
Female mosquitoes, which can transmit deadly diseases like malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus and filariasis, are attracted to us by smelling the carbon dioxide … Read more
Swarming insect provides clues to how the brain processes smells
Our sense of smell is often the first response to environmental stimuli. Odors trigger neurons in the brain that alert us to take action. However, … Read more
Why do you want to eat the baby?
What woman has not wanted to gobble up a baby placed in her arms, even if the baby is not hers? This reaction, which everyone … Read more
Small particles show big promise in beating unpleasant odors
Scientists are reporting development of a new approach for dealing with offensive household and other odors — one that doesn’t simply mask odors like today’s room fresheners, but eliminates them at the source. Their research found that a deodoran…
‘Perfumery radar’ brings order to odors
Scientists are announcing development and successful testing of the first “perfumery radar (PR).” It’s not a new electronic gadget for homing in on the source of that Eau de Givenchy or Jungle Tiger in a crowded room. Rather, PR is a long-awaited ne…
