Collaborate Disseminate
Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower – all members of the Brassica family – are inarguably healthy vegetables. They also have infamously bitter and pungent characteristics that some people find deeply unpleasant.Continue ReadingCategory: Biology… Continue reading How the bacteria in your mouth could be the reason you dislike broccoli
Our sense of smell seems to be the most complicated, and as such it’s the least understood. To help shed some light on the system, researchers at Rockefeller University have taken the first cryo-electron microscope images of an olfactory receptor at wo… Continue reading Science of smell: The first molecular images of odor receptors at work
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed an electronic nose (or e-nose) that may be able to sniff out signs of cancer from blood plasma samples. In tests, the device was able to detect a range of cancer types with over 90 percent ac… Continue reading Electronic nose sniffs out cancer in blood samples with over 90% accuracy
New research from an international team of scientists has demonstrated how odors evoke memories in the brain, in ways stronger than other senses. Using neuroimaging and intracranial electrophysiology, the research shows how olfactory pathways communica… Continue reading Study reveals why smell memories are stronger than other sense memories
Inspired by the incredible olfactory senses of dogs, scientists have been developing and demonstrating different types of “electronic noses” that can sniff out things like cancer, nerve gases or even explosives. A new example of this is claimed to up t… Continue reading Electronic nose uses machine learning to mimic a dog’s sense of smell
A novel wearable device has been proposed to deliver electrical pulses stimulating the olfactory system as a way of preventing or slowing dementia-related neurodegeneration. A dysfunctional sense of smell is suspected to be one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s so it is hypothesized these diseases could be prevented by olfactory stimulation.
Tags: Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Dementia, Wearable, Brain stimulation, Neuroscience, Smell, University of Otago
Continue reading Google-Glass-like smell stimulation device proposed as dementia therapy
No matter how good we humans have made something, chances are nature did it better millions of years ago. Rather than compete, it’s often better to tap into the natural version – and that’s exactly what scientists have done with the Smellicopter, a dro… Continue reading “Smellicopter” drone uses live moth antenna to sniff out targets
In the near(ish) future we could be using cyborg locusts as sniffer dogs to detect explosives, according to a new proof of concept study. A team showed that locusts could smell different amounts of explosive chemicals in the air to track the location o… Continue reading Cyborg locusts sniff out a career in detecting explosives
In space, so the Alien tagline goes, nobody can hear you scream. One of the most memorable pieces of movie promotion ever, it refers to the effect of the vacuum of space on the things human senses require an atmosphere to experience. It’s a lesson that Joss Whedon used to …read more
Body odor is an unpleasant fact of life that we’ve all experienced in some way. Bacteria in the armpit have long been known to be the stinky culprits, and now scientists have discovered a “BO enzyme” in these bugs that’s responsible for the worst of it… Continue reading “BO enzyme” found in armpit bacteria could be new deodorant target