Smell

Scientists have understood for several years how linking learning to specific odor cues can enhance memory if the same smells are then presented during a specific sleep phase. New researcn has now verified the method in a cohort of school students.

We know that our perception of flavor involves a complex interaction between odors detected in the nose and tastes sensed by our tongue. A study has discovered the same olfactory receptors that detect odors in our nose can be found in taste cells on the tongue.

​A team of scientists has solved the mystery of the strange Parkinson's disease smell, revealing a number of skin-secreted volatile biomarkers can be detected in patients suffering from the disease. The next step for the research is to turn this discovery into an early-detection tool.

Our sense of smell is now being used to help sell the illusion of virtual reality with the FeelReal VR Mask, which not only wafts certain scents your way but can also simulate rain, heat and wind on your face.

​Cochlear implants allow deaf people to hear by electrically stimulating their auditory nerves. While that's all very well and good, what about people who have lost their sense of smell? Well, new research suggests that we may be getting closer to an electrical implant for them, too.

​In real life, you don't just see and hear things – you also smell them. Therefore, given that virtual reality (VR) headsets are meant to replicate real-world experiences, shouldn't they provide odors along with sights and sounds? That's the idea behind the smelly new Vaqso VR system.

​A couple of years ago we heard about a study conducted at Britain's University of Exeter, which indicated that increasingly acidic oceans were harming fishes' sense of smell. New research now reinforces that finding, and it could mean that trouble is in store for the marine ecosystem.

​Could scent-tracking sniffer dogs be out of a job? Well, perhaps eventually. Scientists from Japan's Kyushu University have developed a prototype robot that can detect and follow odors left on the ground, such as those deposited in footprints.

There is really no good way to be woken up from a comforting slumber, but the makers of the SensorWake Trio suggest the wafting scent of a cup of coffee or warm cookies will get your morning off to a better start.

​It's important for us to be able to detect odors such as those emitted by spoiled food. However, what if there were a low-cost "electronic nose" that was better at detecting those things, providing us with an earlier warning? That's what's being developed at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

​Diagnosing symptomatic carriers of malaria is difficult enough, needing careful examination of blood samples, but picking up asymptomatic carriers is even more challenging.​ A team set out to find a way to diagnose those asymptomatic malaria carriers and the key turned out to be in body odor.​

​A new study from researchers at the University of British Columbia has revealed that the scent of a person’s partner can tangibly reduce feelings of stress and literally lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.