The human brain registers at least four classes of compounds as the scent we call musk. Structurally, these compounds look nothing alike, yet they smell the same: gamy, rich, and leathery. Researchers at Duke University and Kao Corporation, a chemical and consumer products company in Tokyo,...
Nancy Bonini studies Parkinson’s and other human brain diseases by probing the genes of a lab animal smaller than the head of a pin: the fruit fly. Gary Beauchamp made fundamental discoveries about the human senses of taste and smell, showing how we can be weaned...
Growing up in the U.S., the scent and flavor of vanilla are practically baked into our childhoods thanks to sugar cookies, candy, frosting, whipped cream, pound cake, and beyond. And long before we duked it out with our elementary school classmates over a single glazed...
Candy corn — invented ages ago in Philadelphia, according to legend — may be even more polarizing than that other autumnal aroma, pumpkin spice. The police department in Fort Collins, Colo., once said (only partly in jest?) that this tricolored staple of Halloween should be a...
Researchers have long known that the chemical structure of the molecules we inhale influences what we smell. But in most cases, no one can figure out exactly how. Scientists have deciphered a few specific rules that govern how the nose and brain perceive an airborne...
Zombies are just regular people, or at least they were before — well, you know. With that in mind and with Halloween approaching, The Washington Post asked experts in several fields to address some zombie mysteries based on what is known about human bodies and brains....
You won't find much — if any — mention of garum, the fermented fish-based condiment, on the menus at the San Francisco restaurants Saison or Angler. But a few dribbles of this umami-rich elixir make diners croon, "Mmm, what is that?". You'll find garum in...
Dr. Nancy Rawson is a scientist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and serves on the Science and Medical Advisory Council for the Smell and Taste Association of North America (STANA). She discusses the long-term COVID side effect of loss of taste and/or...
Two and a half years ago, my nose stopped working. That’s when I realized how often smell comes up in daily conversation: “That Uber smelled weird,” or “that woman was wearing way too much perfume,” or “someone’s definitely smoking weed nearby.” I have anosmia, a symptom of...
Communicating a sensory experience to someone who doesn’t know what you’re talking about is hard. How would you describe the color red to someone who’s colorblind? How might you explain the aroma of onions sautéing in butter to someone who’s never smelled it? Meaty, savory, rich,...