sense of smell Archives - Amazing Health Advances

6 Things You Didn’t Know About the Science of Smell

The AHA! Team — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 06:36:45 +0000

Zachy Hennessey via Israel21c – Here are some of the coolest things Israeli researchers have sniffed out about the underappreciated sense of smell. You may not think it’s so important, but scientific research has done a lot to prove that your sense of smell has a lot of value besides checking if that two-week old cream cheese is starting to go bad (it is). We here at ISRAEL21c have been covering breakthroughs in smell research for over a decade; below are seven of the more incredible olfactory discoveries over the last few years that are sure to pique your interest — and your nose. 1. Like ‘white noise,’ there’s ‘white smell’ In 2012, a team of researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science (led by the noted olfactory researcher Prof. Noam Sobel) discovered that it’s possible to make a smell that our brains perceive as completely neutral — a so-called “white smell.” Just like white noise and the color white itself are blends of audio frequencies and light waves, respectively, white smell can be created by taking an amalgamation of about 30 different points across the scent spectrum and blending them together. They even invented a fancy name for the new smell: Laurax. That’s going right to the top of my “names for obscure smells” list, right above “Petrichor” (the smell that comes after a long-awaited rain), and right below “Yuckamolis” (my four-year-old’s description of the smell of my feet). 2. If you can’t smell, you’ll die faster Bad news if your sniffer’s out of commission: According to research published this year in Nature Communications, people who don’t have a sense of smell have a reduced life expectancy. Researchers at Weizmann found that people who don’t have a functioning olfactory sense have unique breathing patterns that could be linked to depression, anxiety and other negative health outcomes which, all in all, add up to a minus on life’s upper limits. A bit off our topic, but nonetheless fascinating, the same paper reveals the critical importance of sighing to good health. The researchers explain that “to maintain life, patients need not only to breathe rhythmically, but also sigh every 5 min[utes] or so, as this is critical for preventing collapse of alveoli in the lungs.” 3. Your nose has spots for different smells You may have heard that different parts of your tongue can taste different flavors. Well, the same goes for your nose. Back in 2011, Sobel and a group of Weizmann researchers found that there are specific areas in your nose dedicated to processing pleasant and unpleasant smells. This means that there are objective ways to measure whether an odor is actually bad and not a matter of personal taste: if the “yucky” sensors are the ones that process the smell of rotten fish, for example, then it’s a safe bet that rotten fish is definitively a bad smell. “We uncovered a clear correlation between the pattern of nerve reaction to various smells and the pleasantness of those smells. As in sight and hearing, the receptors for our sense of smell are spatially organized in a way that reflects the nature of the sensory experience,” Sobel noted. 4. Our friends smell like us Research conducted by — you guessed it — the Weizmann Institute in 2022 discovered that we tend to be friendlier with people who smell like we do. Using a fancy electronic nose, researchers discovered that close friends often share similar body odor patterns, a finding that goes beyond mere coincidence. The team put this theory to the test with both existing friends and strangers, finding they could predict with 71 percent accuracy which people would form social bonds based on smell similarity alone. 5. The smell of women’s tears makes men less aggressive Weizmann scientists also discovered that women’s tears contain chemicals that significantly reduce aggressive behavior in men. In the experiments, men who sniffed women’s tears (without knowing what they were smelling) showed 44% less aggressive behavior in a revenge-based game compared to when they sniffed saline. As we all (definitely) know, a similar phenomenon has been observed in other animal populations, like mice. The crazy thing is, humans don’t even have the biological parts necessary to detect the signals that lady tears give off — our noses just pick up on the odorless chemicals and our brains know what to do in response. Considering this discovery, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot more sports bars having a spray bottle of woman tears on hand to cool off rowdy patrons. 6. Your nose could keep you on life support If you’re in a coma — first of all, I’m impressed that you’re reading this, but also — your nose may be able to communicate with the doctors around you. Scientists at (drumroll please…) the Weizmann Institute and Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital discovered that, by measuring changes in patients’ nasal airflow when exposed to different odors (like fragrant shampoo or rotten fish), those who showed even slight reactions to smells had a 100% rate of regaining consciousness during the four-year study period. The test also predicted with 92% accuracy which patients would survive for at least three years. This discovery is a big deal because current methods of diagnosing consciousness in brain-injured patients can be wrong up to 40% of the time, which affects critical decisions about life support and pain management. The new “sniff test” is simple, inexpensive and can be done at a patient’s bedside. The bad news is that this seriously amplifies the negative effects of entry No. 2 on this list. There’s truly no rest for the smell bereft. To read the original article click here.

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Could Vitamin A Help to Regain Your Smell Loss After COVID-19?

AHA Publisher — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 07:00:23 +0000

University of East Anglia via News-Medical – Researchers at the University of East Anglia and James Paget University Hospital are launching a new project to see whether Vitamin A could help people regain their sense of smell after viral infections including COVID-19. We also spoke exclusively to Professor Carl Philpott who is leading the study to find out more. Smell loss is a common symptom of COVID-19, but even before COVID, many viruses had been causing smell loss and distortion and while most people naturally regain their sense of smell within a couple of weeks, many have been left with ongoing smell disorders. We asked Lead researcher Prof Carl Philpott, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School and James Paget University Hospitals NHS Trust why this is and he said the following; “Viruses may differ in their mechanisms of action but they are generally thought to cause the fine hair like endings (cilia) of the smell receptors to fall away, leading to loss of function. “It is not clear why some people are left with ongoing smell disorders and others are not. It is possible some who have persistent problems have greater numbers of the ACE2 receptors that allow the spike protein to enter and infect the smell.” Previous research from Germany has shown the potential benefit of Vitamin-A, and the UEA team will explore how this treatment works to help repair tissues in the nose damaged by viruses. They hope that the study, which has been funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), could one day help improve the lives of millions around the world who suffer from smell loss, by returning their fifth sense. The Apollo research team will work with patients who have lost their sense of smell due to a viral infection. They will either receive a 12-week course of nasal vitamin A drops or inactive equivalent drops and have their brains scanned before and after the treatment. The scans will be compared to those of a control group who have not been treated with vitamin A drops. When asking Professor Carl Philpott about what the study will be looking for, and how to get involved, he said the following; “We will be measuring the size of the olfactory bulbs and also brain activity in response to varying smells. “You can get involved in the Apollo Study using the following link: https://rhinology-group.uea.ac.uk/apollo-trial/“ Duncan Boak, Founder, and Chair of Fifth Sense said: “At Fifth Sense we have engaged with thousands of people who have experienced changes in their ability to smell or taste as a result of the COVID-19 virus. They join an already large community of people with a smell disorder that pre-dates the pandemic. “The question we are most often asked is about available treatments to support recovery. Not being able to smell is not only physically distressing but can affect the enjoyment of social occasions and present hazards and risks that might never have been previously considered such as not being able to detect gas leaks or spoiled food. “Research into potentially successful interventions is vital to help people feeling the impact of smell disorders that affects the quality and enjoyment of their life.” To take part in this trial, patients need to be referred to The Smell and Taste Clinic at the James Paget University Hospital by their GP. Recruitment is expected to begin in December 2021. Following this study, Professor Carl Philpott aims to “keep developing new treatment options and coping strategies”. To read the original article click here.

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Sniff Test Can Predict if Brain-Injured Patient Will Wake Up

AHA Publisher — Wed, 06 May 2020 07:00:07 +0000

News Staff via Israel21c – The sniff response not only predicted who would regain consciousness, it also predicted with high accuracy who would survive for at least three years. If an unconscious person responds to smell through a slight change in their nasal airflow pattern, he or she is likely to regain consciousness. This is the conclusion of a new study conducted by Weizmann Institute scientists and colleagues at the Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital, Israel. According to the findings, published April 29 in the journal Nature, 100 percent of the unconscious brain-injured patients who responded to a “sniff test” developed by the researchers regained consciousness during the four-year study period. This simple, inexpensive test can aid doctors in accurately diagnosing and determining treatment plans according to the patients’ degree of brain injury. The scientists conclude that this finding once again highlights the primal role of the sense of smell in human brain organization. The olfactory system’s integrity provides an accurate measure of overall brain integrity. Determining Injury to Determine Treatment Following severe brain injury, it is often difficult to determine whether the person is conscious or unconscious. Current diagnostic tests can lead to incorrect diagnosis in up to 40% of cases. “Misdiagnosis can be critical as it can influence the decision of whether to disconnect patients from life-support machines,” said lead researcher Anat Arzi. “In regard to treatment, if it is judged that a patient is unconscious and doesn’t feel anything, physicians may not prescribe them painkillers that they might need.” Arzi began this research during her doctoral studies in the group of Prof. Noam Sobel of the Weizmann Institute of Science’s Neurobiology Department and continued it as part of her postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Psychology. Sobel, head of the Azrieli National Institute for Human Brain Imaging and Research, recently collaborated with Wolfson Medical Center to develop SmellTracker – an online platform that enables self-monitoring of smell in order to detect early signs of Covid-19. His lab also recently published a paper on how inhaling can improve test performance. The Nose Knows The “consciousness test” developed by the researchers – in collaboration with Dr. Yaron Sacher, head of the Department of Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation at Loewenstein RehabilitationHospital – is based on the principle that nasal airflow changes in response to odor. For example, an unpleasant odor will lead to shorter and shallower sniffs. In healthy humans, the sniff-response can occur unconsciously in both wakefulness and sleep. The study included 43 brain-injured patients at Loewenstein. The researchers briefly placed jars containing various odors under the patients’ noses, including a pleasant scent of shampoo, an unpleasant smell of rotten fish, or no odor at all. At the same time, the scientists precisely measured the volume of air inhaled through the nose in response to the odors. Each jar was presented to the patient ten times in random order during the testing session, and each patient participated in several such sessions. First Signs of Hope “Astonishingly, all patients who were classified as being in a ‘vegetative state’ yet responded to the sniff test, later regained consciousness, even if only minimal. In some cases, the result of the sniff test was the first sign that these patients were about to recover consciousness – and this reaction was observed days, weeks and even months prior to any other signs,” says Arzi. Moreover, the sniff response not only predicted who would regain consciousness, it also predicted with about 92% accuracy who would survive for at least three years. “The fact that the sniff test is simple and potentially inexpensive makes it advantageous,” explained Arzi. “It can be performed at the patients’ bedside without the need to move them – and without complicated machinery.” The Value of Diagnosing Consciousness The main diagnostic tool for assessing the level of consciousness after severe head injury is the Coma Recovery Scale (Revised), which examines eye movements while tracking an object; turning the head toward a sound; response to pain, and other reactions. “There are known cases of people who were diagnosed in a ‘vegetative state,’ but when they regained consciousness, they were able to recount in detail what was occurring while supposedly vegetative,” says Arzi. “Diagnosing the level of consciousness of a patient who has suffered a severe head injury is a major clinical challenge. The sniff test we have developed may provide a simple tool to tackle this challenge.” To read the original article click here. This article has been modified. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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Self-Test Your Sense of Smell to Help Detect Coronavirus

AHA Publisher — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 07:00:32 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – SmellTracker, developed in Israel, is an online platform that enables self-monitoring of smell for detecting early signs of COVID-19. Is your sense of smell suddenly not working very well? Not to panic you, but sudden olfactory loss has emerged as a significant symptom in about 60 percent of COVID-19 patients. In fact, in France, people reporting a dramatic drop-off in their ability to smell are automatically assumed coronavirus-positive. Based on this data, Weizmann Institute scientists, in collaboration with Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, developed SmellTracker – an online platform that enables self-monitoring of smell in order to detect early signs of COVID-19. SmellTracker was cooked up in the olfactory research lab of Prof. Noam Sobel in the Weizmann Institute’s Department of Neurobiology. His team previously developed a mathematical model that accurately characterizes an individual’s unique “olfactory fingerprint.” Using this existing algorithm, SmellTracker guides users on mapping their sense of smell with the help of five scents found in virtually every home (spices, vinegar, toothpaste, baking extracts, peanut butter and others). The test is available in English, Hebrew and Arabic, and is also expected to be available in Swedish, French, Japanese, Spanish, German and Persian. The five-minute online odor test can discover sudden changes in odor perception that may be an early indication of COVID-19. The test has already identified potential coronavirus cases that were later confirmed. As more data is collected, the researchers are more likely to be able to characterize a unique olfactory fingerprint for the early detection of COVID-19. The venture, launched with backing from the Ministry of Defense, will be promoted in the coming days in Sweden, France and other countries. Sobel’s lab also is distributing “scratch and smell” kits among confirmed coronavirus patients to map their sense of smell. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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