The Sweet Smell of Science (broadcast Friday, June 27th, 2008)

Dog nose by Flickr user kalimistuk

Just what does your nose know? Join guest host Joe Palca in this segment for a conversation with psychologist, smell scientist, and entrepreneur Avery Gilbert about making sense of the sense of smell. How do chemistry, biology, and psychology come together to create what people perceive as an aroma? We'll talk about the science of smell, and how that science is used every day to create a scent for your world. Plus, we'll take a look at how artists have made use of smell in fiction, poetry, art, and music, and how scent is being incorporated into artistic works and museum exhibits. Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests

Jim Drobnick
Co-Curator, "Odor Limits" Exhibition
Esther M. Klein Art Gallery at The Science Center
Philadelphia, PA

Avery Gilbert
Author, "What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life" (Crown Publishers, 2008)
Psychologist and "Smell Scientist"
Montclair, New Jersey

Related Links

• NIDCD: Smell Disorders
• Neuroscience for Kids: Smell
• Society for Neuroscience | Smell and the Olfactory System
• Nobel Prize in Medicine, 2004
• ChemConnections: Smells Database
• A Tutorial on the Sense of Smell

Segment produced by:Annette Heist

Image: Avery Gilbert takes in the art at Philadelphia's Esther Klein Gallery.
Annette Heist photo

Stories for
Friday, June 27th, 2008

• A Census of the Oceans
• The Sweet Smell of Science
• New Research into Stroke and the Brain
• Stroke of Insight

Elsewhere on Sciencefriday.com

Explore More

• Biochemistry
• Biology
• Food and Drink
• Art