Matthew Savoca, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
A new study shows that anchovies – key food for larger fish – are attracted to plastic trash because it smells like food. This suggests that toxic substances in plastic could move up through food chains.
Move over, dogs. The latest evidence suggests humans can match most other animals when it comes to smelling – and even outperform them for certain scents.
What’s the smell you associate with your childhood home? Or road-trips? Or fear? Conceptual artist Cat Jones has created the Scent of Sydney for the Sydney Festival, exploring the city in smells.
How does your brain deal with the ambiguous and variable visual information your eyes collect? Neuroscientists think it bets on what’s the most likely version of reality.
New research is narrowing the gap, creating technology with the detecting capabilities of canines but without the downsides of relying on a biological system.
Detecting drier or wetter conditions is crucial for insect survival. We’ve long known they can do this – now researchers have discovered the genetic and neural basis for their humidity-sensing system.
New breakthrough in how to test proteins linked to touch and movement could have major implications for strokes, diabetes, spinal injuries and much more.
If you have taken a walk and would like to return home you need to have an idea of where you are in relation to your destination. To do this, you need to know which way you are facing and also in which…
Once a topic explored exclusively in science fiction, the notion of restoring sensory feelings to humans and to machines is now approaching reality. Scientists around the world are developing artificial…
A soft and tender caress between two people can trigger a flood of emotions, and now we may have some idea why. Research [published in Neuron](http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(14%2900387-0…
Congenitally blind people have been taught to perceive body shape and posture through “soundscapes” that translate images into sound, a study published today in Current Biology reports. Vision often dominates…
Adam Kucharski, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Familiar everyday odours such as coffee and red wine are produced by a blend of different substances. Given that we know aroma is nothing but a mix of volatile chemicals, can we understand them enough…
Words that make objects appear from thin air are generally the stuff of the magical worlds of Harry Potter or The Hobbit. But a new experiment has been shown that words can make objects easier to recognise…