Episode 8: Making Sense of Smell

Smell is a powerful thing.  In fact, some say it’s the most powerful of our senses. But it’s not a well-understood sense by any means.  Every now and again, a new study appears with a new set of categories or a new angle, but for now, the definitive answer on how smell really works remains elusive. A recent study set the number of odour categories at 10, but the YASSers think that something about it just smells off. Take a listen to find out why.

After a brief hiatus, the guys are back! Orad and Jesse introduce their new co-host Nina Pariser and discuss smell. Plus, our first legit voicemail!

References

Here are some scientific references we used while researching this show:

• Categorical Dimensions of Human Odor Descriptor Space Revealed by Non-Negative Matrix Factorization from PLOS one, 18 September 2013.
• An article in the BBC about smell.
• The Science of Scent, a TED Talk by biophysicist Luca Turin.
• How do dogs “see” with their noses? – Youtube video.
• The Smell Report from the Social Issues Research Centre.
• Photo Source: Armin Kübelbeck, CC-BY-SA, Wikimedia Commons