[Sandeep Robert] Datta, whose HMS lab studies how animals use senses to understand the world around them, says that neuroscience has revealed the mechanisms behind odor’s power to spur memory — a power with evolutionary origins. Our ancient ancestors relied on smell to build maps of their surroundings and remember where they’d been. “You can think of the original brain as being a sense of smell plus a sense of navigation plus a sense of memory,” Datta says. “That explains why all those structures are so intimately connected, and why odor memories are so evocative.”

— Read more in The Connections Between Smell, Memory, and Health at Harvard Medicine.

Previous research has hinted at the idea that interactions with the opposite sex could accelerate aging. Building on this foundation, Garratt’s study takes a step further by demonstrating that even without direct interaction, sensory cues alone are potent enough to drive these aging effects.

“This study sheds light on the profound impact that sensory information — what we see, hear, and smell — can have on our bodies, potentially influencing our health and the way we age,” Garratt explains.

— Read more in Exposure to certain odors and pheromones speeds up the aging process at Earth.

Imagine if we could inhale scents that delay the onset of cancer, inflammation, or neurodegenerative disease. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, are poised to bring this futuristic technology closer to reality.

In lab experiments, a team led by Anandasankar Ray, a professor of molecular, cell and systems biology, exposed the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) to diacetyl, a microbial volatile compound released by yeast, and found changes in gene expression in the fly’s antennae in just a few days. In separate experiments, the team found similar gene expression changes in mice and human cells.

— Read more in Sniffing our way to better health at UC Riverside. Hat tip to Bill!

A battery of neuropsychological tests was then used to compare the volunteers' memory, verbal learning, planning, and attention-switching skills before and after the six-month trial.

Astonishingly, there was a clear 226 percent difference between the responses provided by those who were exposed to a variety of fragrances and individuals in the control group. A scan of their brains also revealed a significant change in the anatomy linking areas of the brain critical in memory and thinking within the test group.

—  Read more in Brain Function Dramatically Boosted by Certain Fragrances During Sleep at Science Alert.

In the captivating realm of human senses, the idea that our ability to feel pain and smell could be intertwined seems like a plot twist from a science fiction novel. However, recent research has uncovered a fascinating link between the two, with insights emerging from the lives of individuals who, against all odds, cannot feel physical pain.

— Read more in People Who Don't Feel Pain Also Can't Smell at Psychology Today.