Believe it or not, scientists still don't know how the sense of smell works. But they're looking at how powerful it is - dogs can actually sniff out cancer and many other diseases - and they're trying to figure out how to reverse engineer it. In fact, one MIT scientist may have built a robot nose ... without completely understanding how his invention works.
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Nov 19
Lost on the road to enlightenment
So many of us have been told that meditation can make us less stressed, more productive, and happier. But for a small group of people, it has a dark side. What’s going on?
Guests: Willoughby Britton, associate professor at Brown University; Richard Davidson, professor at the Uni ... Show More
35m 17s
Feb 2022
Why Didn't We Evolve to Smell Water?
OK, water is scentless, but lots of non-human animals track down sources of it with their noses. Learn why humans aren't so good at that in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/evolution/humans-smell-fresh-water-evolution.htm L ... Show More
5m 37s
Jun 2024
E. coli, DNA sniffing, and tracking trees
Dr Chris Smith and the Naked Scientist team present the latest science news, analysis and breakthroughs.This week: how scientists are getting to grips with the UK's E. coli outbreak. Lettuce leaves look likely to be the source, but how? We find out how atomic bomb tests have help ... Show More
51m 11s