The researchers discovered that olfactory enrichment worked. Dogs often are stressed when they are held in rescue shelters, and they discovered that vanilla, valerian, coconut, and ginger reduced activity and vocalizations (barking and whining) and coconut and ginger increased sleep. Dr. Todd notes that these odors have been found to be beneficial for wombats, sea-lions, Javan gibbons, cats, and rats.

— Read more at Dogs' Noses in the News: Scents Reduce Stress in Shelters at Psychology Today.

The parasite that causes malaria can change the way you smell, making you more attractive to mosquitoes, according to a new study. The work may help explain why the disease is able to spread so effectively.

Read more at Malaria infection creates a ‘human perfume’ that makes us more attractive to mosquitoes at Science.

In a paper published Jan. 25 in Current Biology, University of Washington researchers report that mosquitoes can in fact learn to associate a particular odor with an unpleasant mechanical shock akin to being swatted. As a result, they’ll avoid that scent the next time.

— Read more at If you swat mosquitoes, they may learn to avoid your scent at University of Washington.

While they’re susceptible to a range of other diseases and parasites, waterbucks simply aren’t of much interest to tsetse flies. Researchers from Kenya, the United Kingdom, and Germany identified five compounds that give waterbucks their characteristic scent—and found that they can help repel the flies.

— Read more at Waterbuck-Scented Cologne Can Protect Cows From Tsetse Fly Bites at Atlas Obscura.