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A controversial theory that the way we smell involves a quantum physics effect has received a boost, following experiments with human subjects.
It challenges the notion that our sense of smell depends only on the shapes of molecules we sniff in the air.
— Read more at 'Quantum smell' idea gains ground at BBC News.
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You might not be able to pick your fingerprint out of an inky lineup, but your brain knows what you smell like. For the first time, scientists have shown that people recognize their own scent based on their particular combination of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins, molecules similar to those used by animals to choose their mates.
— Got that? Read the whole thing at How People Smell Themselves at Wired. Hat tip to Jessica!
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Meet Laurax, a not-very-bold, not-that-exciting new fragrance. According to a panel of sniffers, it’s neither appealing nor revolting. It’s “intermediately pleasant”. People almost trip over themselves to describe it in non-descript terms—“fragrant”, “chemical” and “perfumery”.
Laurax isn’t going to set the perfume world ablaze in the near future, but its scientific implications are fascinating. This bizarre scent is actually a set of completely different fragrances that all smell roughly the same. It’s the odour version of “white”.
— Read more at The smell of white – mixtures of many distinct scents end up smelling the same at Discover Magazine.
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Take it for a ride. "Pick it and put it on the car seat as you drive home," Marriott says. "As you drive, you can pick up that fragrance on the ride. It could be the enclosed atmosphere. Maybe the humidity goes higher. I don't know."
— Works for fragrance blotters too, but Michael Marriott is talking about roses, and how to get the most out of their fragrance; he works for David Austin Roses. Read more at A nose for the rose at the Chicago Tribune.
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Richard somebody of Abe Books talks about the smell of old books, and research done on the components that make up that particular odor. You can read more about the research at this 2009 article in the Guardian. Hat tip to Sondra!