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How Smell Guides Our Inner World

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Manage episode 498423284 series 1428432
Content provided by Quanta Magazine. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Quanta Magazine or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

When some people smell the molecule benzyl acetate, they identify a distinctly banana-y scent. But when others sniff the same compound, they get hints of nail polish remover. How can this be? Smell is a tricky sensory process to pin down. Our perception of scents is wide-ranging and often depends on lived experience. But researchers are building a deeper understanding of the processes underlying our noses’ elusive machinery.

In this episode, host Samir Patel and 𝘘𝘢𝘒𝘯𝘡𝘒 biology staff writer Yasemin Saplakoglu explore the invisible sense that shapes our reality, from nostalgic childhood fragrances β€” lavender, old books β€” to familiar irksome odors β€” skunks, garbage. This topic was covered in a recent story for 𝘘𝘢𝘒𝘯𝘡𝘒 π˜”π˜’π˜¨π˜’π˜»π˜ͺ𝘯𝘦.

Each week on π˜›π˜©π˜¦ 𝘘𝘢𝘒𝘯𝘡𝘒 π˜—π˜°π˜₯𝘀𝘒𝘴𝘡, 𝘘𝘢𝘒𝘯𝘡𝘒 π˜”π˜’π˜¨π˜’π˜»π˜ͺ𝘯𝘦 editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.

  continue reading

289 episodes

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How Smell Guides Our Inner World

The Quanta Podcast

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Manage episode 498423284 series 1428432
Content provided by Quanta Magazine. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Quanta Magazine or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

When some people smell the molecule benzyl acetate, they identify a distinctly banana-y scent. But when others sniff the same compound, they get hints of nail polish remover. How can this be? Smell is a tricky sensory process to pin down. Our perception of scents is wide-ranging and often depends on lived experience. But researchers are building a deeper understanding of the processes underlying our noses’ elusive machinery.

In this episode, host Samir Patel and 𝘘𝘢𝘒𝘯𝘡𝘒 biology staff writer Yasemin Saplakoglu explore the invisible sense that shapes our reality, from nostalgic childhood fragrances β€” lavender, old books β€” to familiar irksome odors β€” skunks, garbage. This topic was covered in a recent story for 𝘘𝘢𝘒𝘯𝘡𝘒 π˜”π˜’π˜¨π˜’π˜»π˜ͺ𝘯𝘦.

Each week on π˜›π˜©π˜¦ 𝘘𝘢𝘒𝘯𝘡𝘒 π˜—π˜°π˜₯𝘀𝘒𝘴𝘡, 𝘘𝘢𝘒𝘯𝘡𝘒 π˜”π˜’π˜¨π˜’π˜»π˜ͺ𝘯𝘦 editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math.

  continue reading

289 episodes

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