It is quite amazing how very small changes in an odourant’s chemical structure can radically change our perception of its scent. For example, octanol, a synthetic compound used in perfumes and...
A weekly explanation of the emerging science behind COVID-19 and its infectious agent, SARS-CoV-2.
Loss of smell and taste could be a symptom of COVID-19 but not a very specific one
Arab perfumers in the sixth century were the first to discover that diluting the obnoxious smelling dried contents of the little pod found near the anus of the male Asian musk deer not only...
This surprising fact was initially discovered by researchers at the Bronx Zoo who compared twenty-three different perfumes’ abilities to attract tigers’ attention. One of the least successful was...
When the land has been dry and it starts to rain, there is a peculiar smell in the air, an earthy scent called petrichor. In the 1960s, two Australian scientists, Isabel Bear and Richard Thomas,...