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Senses

This cheese is real, but by stimulating certain parts of a mouse's brain, researchers were able to trick the critter into smelling scents that were not present.

New Research

Experiment Tricks Mice Into Smelling Things That Aren’t There

Researchers stimulated certain of the mouse’s brain cells in a particular order to produce ‘synthetic smells’

In Asia, many jellyfish species find their way into cuisine. The largely tasteless animals are used predominately for their texture.

To Make Jellyfish More Appetizing, Add Light and Sound Effects to the Dining Experience

Gastrophysicists are going to great lengths to convince Westerners to indulge in the tasteless sustainable seafood

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres' "The Grand Odalisque" is one of eight works of art featured in the project

The Louvre Recruited Top Perfumers to Create Scents Inspired by Its Famous Works of Art

The fragrances evoke masterpieces including ‘Venus de Milo,’ ‘The Winged Victory of Samothrace’ and ‘La Grande Odalisque’

Lots of snacks, please.

Elephants Use Smell to Sniff Out Snack Quantities

When presented with two lidded buckets containing sunflower seeds, elephants seemed able to choose the one with more food

To some, beets' soil-like smell is so strong that eating the vegetable holds the same appeal as dining on a chunk of dirt.

New Research

New Study Reveals How One Person’s ‘Smellscape’ Can Differ From Another’s

A single genetic mutation could determine whether you perceive beets’ soil-like smell, whiskey’s smokiness and lily of the valley’s sweetness

Researchers looked at smell tests taken by more than 2,200 people between the age of 71 and 82 years old.

New Research

Impaired Sense of Smell in the Elderly Is Linked With Risk of Death

A new study finds older people who score poorly on a sniff test are 46 percent more likely to die over the next 10 years, but researchers don’t know why

Cool Finds

New Legos Are Designed to Help Visually Impaired Children Learn Braille

The goal of the new toy is to increase literacy among the blind has fallen dramatically in the last 50 years

"Super smeller" Joy Milne (left) poses alongside Perdita Barran, a co-author of the new study

New Research

How a Woman Who Can Smell Parkinson’s Disease Helped Scientists Create a New Early Diagnosis Method

Joy Milne first noticed a “sort of woody, musky odor” emanating from her husband some 12 years before he was diagnosed with the degenerative disorder

New Research

Some People’s Brains Can Sense Earth’s Magnetic Field—but No, It Doesn’t Mean We Have Magnetoreception ‘Superpowers’

A new experiment reveals signs our brains may respond to changes in Earth’s magnetic field, but it’s unclear whether it impacts behavior

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Ingenious Minds

How Jean Bennett Found a Way to Treat Hereditary Blindness in Children

In conversation with chef Spike Gjerde, the molecular geneticist explains how she is paving the way for the future of gene therapy

These electrode-embedded chopsticks can simulate saltiness.

Using Electric Currents to Fool Ourselves Into Tasting Something We’re Not

Nimesha Ranasinghe is bringing a new dimension to virtual reality, embedding electric taste simulation technology into utensils

New Research

The Physics Behind a Leaky Faucet’s Maddening ‘Plink’

Microphones and high-speed cameras show that what happens when a water droplet hits water is surprisingly complicated

AI will be able to analyze compounds in your breath.

Artificial Intelligence May Be Able To Smell Illnesses in Human Breath

Compounds in your breath could help AI detect illnesses, including different cancers

Saturated invites visitors to contemplate the essence of color, and the fascinating ways in which different hues interact.

Future of Art

How Newton, Goethe, an Ornithologist and a Board Game Designer Helped Us Understand Color

A new exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum explores the kaleidoscope of figures who shaped color theory

ELIA's blocky characters echo the Roman alphabet, with the goal of making it easier to learn for people who lost sight late in life.

Could This New Tactile Font Help People Who Lose Their Sight Late In Life?

ELIA Frames may serve some blind readers better than braille, but the new system has its skeptics

The Versatile Extra-Sensory Transducer, or VEST, has 32 vibrating motors distributed around the torso.

Could This Futuristic Vest Give Us a Sixth Sense?

For starters, the new technology—appearing on ‘Westworld’ before hitting the market—could help the deaf parse speech and ambient noise

New Research

Unraveling the Genetics Behind Why Some People “See” Sound and “Hear” Color

Researchers find several genes that regulate the wiring for synesthesia in the brain

New Research

Praying Mantises Don Tiny Goggles to Help Us Understand 3-D Vision

Unlike humans and other animals, the insects rely on movement to judge distances to their prey

Perhaps all this little bug needs is a few good swats.

New Research

Swatting May Teach Mosquitoes to Avoid Your Scent

Though it won’t work for all species, Aedes aegypti mosquitos seem to have a memory for near-death experiences

Video games can help train the brain to hear better.

Can a Video Game Train You To Hear Better In a Crowded Room?

A new study finds it’s possible to teach the brain to better distinguish between speech and background noise

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