Monday, 20 May, 2013

A common mole never sees the light of day, but it can pinpoint the source of food in just a few seconds — thanks to its newfound stereo smelling ability. If two ears help you hear in stereo, what good are two nostrils?

Study finds that male body odor is harder to mask, but the male nose is more easily confused. Info lends insight into human mating, and helps perfume makers. So what’s in your deodorant?

“It’s true. There’s always one in every group,” says UW-Madison entomology professor and mosquito expert Susan Paskewitz. That’s not to say mosquitoes target certain people because they’re tastier or have higher quality blood. Rather, it’s all about how easy you are to locate. “The main things are how you smell and how hot you are,” [...]

The luscious aroma of flowers attracts lovers, and the biological role of that smell is similar: to attract pollinators. “Plants need to attract insects, bats and hummingbirds to transfer the pollen and create fertile seeds,” says Hugh Iltis, professor emeritus of botany at UW-Madison. Pollination is the transfer of pollen (the plant equivalent of sperm) [...]

Losing your sense of smell raises your chance of an accident.