Odor

While we've seen multiple attempts to produce real-world odors in VR environments, many have involved cumbersome wearable devices. Chinese scientists have developed a much more streamlined system, which is applied to the skin below the user's nose.

One thing that will definitely ruin a wine is an unpleasant aroma. Such malodorous wines could soon be saved, however, with a little bit of help from gold nanoparticles.

Science is quickly catching up to the powerful sniffers on dogs with its own range of artificial noses. Case in point: researchers modified E. coli bacteria to spin electrically conductive nanowires capable of detecting disease-related odor molecules.

Our ancestors probably didn’t smell good, but did they smell well? A new study has grown odor receptors from Neanderthals and Denisovans, and tested their sensitivities to different smells compared to modern humans.

While we've heard about a number of "electronic noses," the devices are rarely as sensitive as their natural counterparts. That's why Israeli scientists have taken a new approach, by incorporating a locust antenna into an odor-identifying robot.

Scientists have studied what makes mosquitoes more attracted to some humans over others, and uncovered strong association between being a so-called mosquito magnet and elevated levels of a fatty acids on the skin.

For decades, inventors have pursued the concept of adding "smell-o-vision" to movies or TV shows. Swedish scientists have now created such a system for use in VR gaming, and it could actually help people regain their lost sense of smell.

Having been domesticated many thousands of years ago, dogs have evolved to become highly attuned to human behavior, but a study from scientists at Queen's University Belfast has taken this concept into new terrain.

Researchers have discovered how some viruses can alter the smell of their host in order to attract mosquitoes. A study found dengue and Zika viruses can alter a host’s skin microbiome to enhance the volume of odor molecules that draw in mosquitoes.

A compelling new study suggests we tend to make friends with people who smell the same as us. Across a series of experiments the researchers found volunteers interacted more positively with strangers who shared similar body odor qualities.

A fascinating new study suggests trained ants could be an effective way to detect cancer in humans. The researchers demonstrated a certain species of ant can be quickly trained to detect cancerous cells with an accuracy equal to that seen in dogs.

By the time that Parkinson’s disease is causing observable symptoms, it's often advanced to the stage that it's difficult to treat. In an effort to detect the disease earlier, scientists have developed an "electronic nose" that sniffs it out.