Though the main goal was to collect data, [Antonie] Bierling and her team did some analysis and drew a core conclusion: “The most crucial finding of this data set is really to appreciate that there are differences in olfactory perception,” she said. For example, around 250 participants described benzyl acetate as smelling like nail polish remover; around 170 others said it smelled like a banana or other fruits.

“Both are actually correct,” she said. “This is actually, in my opinion, not just noise.” Benzyl acetate is present in both nail polish remover and bananas, and “humans get to know a molecule in a certain context."

— Read more in How Smell Guides Our Inner World at Quanta Magazine.

When you meet a stranger for the first time, how do you judge your potential to be friends? Is it their personality? Their style? Their smile? According to a new study in Scientific Reports, scent might have something to do with it, as smell preferences can predict whether people see each other as potential friends.

— Read more in Friends at First Sniff: Smell Preferences Predict People’s Friendship Potential at Discover Magazine.

When I started taking a GLP-1 medication in October, I knew it would probably change a few things—our weekly dinner plan, how my pants fit, my relationship to alcohol (initial research shows low-dose GLP-1 drug patients drink less of it). What I didn’t know was that it would make me hate some of my favorite perfumes.

— Read more in My GLP-1 Medication Changed the Way Perfume Smells to Me at Allure.