You smell : the mysterious science of scent

Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2015.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Becker, Rachel A
Other Authors: Thomas Levenson.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101358
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author Becker, Rachel A
author2 Thomas Levenson.
author_facet Thomas Levenson.
Becker, Rachel A
author_sort Becker, Rachel A
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description Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2015.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1013582022-01-13T07:55:16Z You smell : the mysterious science of scent Mysterious science of scent Becker, Rachel A Thomas Levenson. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Comparative Media Studies. Comparative Media Studies. Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies, 2015. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 20-26). The sense of smell is a mystery-and the human sense of smell is a particularly inscrutable one. Only in the last 25 years have scientists identified the molecules in our noses responsible for detecting odors, and since then, the unexpected discovery of a new family of olfactory detection molecules has complicated the story. When the complexities of the human brain, human motivation, and human variation are added to the mix, the question of what smells do to and for us becomes even more perplexing-and intriguing. Essayist and physician Lewis Thomas wrote that understanding the sense of smell "may not seem a profound enough problem to dominate all the life sciences, but it contains, piece by piece, all the mysteries." Scientists from all fields are coming together to solve these mysteries of olfaction, and their investigations are starting to reveal that the sense of smell can move us in ways that we aren't even always aware. While it's clear that scientists are far from closing the case on smell, it is also becoming increasingly obvious that the power of the human nose is nothing to sniff at. by Rachel A. Becker. S.M. in Science Writing 2016-02-29T15:02:33Z 2016-02-29T15:02:33Z 2015 2015 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101358 939622399 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 26 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Comparative Media Studies.
Becker, Rachel A
You smell : the mysterious science of scent
title You smell : the mysterious science of scent
title_full You smell : the mysterious science of scent
title_fullStr You smell : the mysterious science of scent
title_full_unstemmed You smell : the mysterious science of scent
title_short You smell : the mysterious science of scent
title_sort you smell the mysterious science of scent
topic Comparative Media Studies.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/101358
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