How we smell is not just a matter of taste – it’s also influenced by our genes. An international team of researchers led by scientists from Leipzig University has conducted the largest genetic study to date on the human sense of smell. Researchers at the Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology (IMISE) identified seven new genetic regions associated with our ability to perceive odours. In the long term, the findings could help improve understanding of olfactory disorders and enable earlier detection of diseases.

— Read more in Seven New Genetic Regions Associated With Our Ability to Perceive Odors at Technology Networks.

But what we found when we tested them on very faint substances is that they perform just as well as the control group, but they reacted very strongly to the smells when they were there.

So it was not about being able to smell smells that they couldn't smell before, but they reacted completely different. So it was more on a reactivity level, and that is thought to be protective of the child.

— Jonas Olofsson, professor of psychology at Stockholm University and director of the Sensory Cognitive Interaction Lab, on his research on pregnant women, from the transcript of the radio broadcast Week of Wonder: 'Vivaldi smells like breakfast sausage' at WBUR.