Last semester, at the Kids Judge Neuroscience Fair (a science fair
put on by Penn students and judged by students from various neighboring
elementary schools), an experiment was titled “Nose Knows.” I didn’t pay much
attention to the title of this exposition, and disregarded it just a quirky,
alliterative way to catch the attention of our young judges. Up until recently,
I hadn’t given this exposition, or its title, much thought.
Last week in one of my classes, I was blown away by the information
presented by Dr. Johan Lundstrom, our guest
lecturer. Dr. Lundstrom explained how our sense of smell, probably the sense
that most of us consider to be the least important, plays a highly
underestimated role in our lives. Our sense of smell participates in everything
from mate choice to memory and emotional response. Also, surprisingly to me, it
is not uncommon for a physician to use his or her sense of smell as a
diagnostic tool.
Research on olfaction is continually helping scientists and
society to understand the role of the sense of smell in our lives. As science
and technology continue to advance, it is likely that we will greater perceive
and appreciate this trivialized sense. Who knows, maybe one day Google's
April Fool's joke will actually be a reality!
-Beatriz Gadala-Maria
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