Senses

Heritage scientist Cecilia Bembibre captures the smell of a 18th-century bible at Knole House.

The Quest to Better Describe the Scent of Old Books

Describing a unique smell just got easier thanks to a pair of olfactory detectives

Nearly blind, Typhlomys cinereus thrives in the high forests of southeastern China and Vietnam—with a little help from another sense.

This Echolocating Dormouse Could Reveal the Origins of One of Nature’s Coolest Superpowers

Mice, moths and even humans use clicks and echoes to "see" the world around them

So Is 'Mona Lisa' Smiling? A New Study Says Yes

Compared to other similar images, the masterpiece's mouth registered as happy to almost 100 percent of the participants

Psst--smell my feet.

Bumblebees May Smell Each Other's Footprints to Keep Track of Flowers

In a new study, bumblebees were able to discriminate the foot odor left behind by their nestmates, strange bees and themselves

Synesthesia, or the entangling of the senses, may be much more common than once thought.

One in Five People May Be Able to "Hear" a Flash of Light

Once thought to be a rare condition, some forms of synesthesia may be fairly common

North Sense, about a square inch in size and enclosed in body-compatible silicone, can be anchored to the chest via titanium piercings.

This Artificial Sixth Sense Helps Humans Orient Themselves in the World

A London-based company is selling North Sense, a body-anchored device that vibrates when it faces magnetic north

Abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky, who may have been a synesthete, once said: "Color is the key. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano with its many chords. The artist is the hand that, by touching this or that key, sets the soul vibrating automatically."

Feel the Music—Literally—With Some Help From New Synesthesia Research

How one artist created a show inspired by the neurological experience of synesthesia

Latrines in Bangladesh

This "Perfume" for Toilets Could Help Improve Sanitation Around the World

The odor-masking scent could help convince people to choose latrines and prevent pollution of waterways with waste

Adriaen van de Venne engraved this early depiction of a Dutch telescope. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

10 Bizarre, Vision-Enhancing Technologies From the Last 1,000 Years

Before Oculus Rift, there were lorgnettes, TV glasses and eyborgs

A new flavor wheel groups together different flavor attributes of coffee.

Describe Your Coffee With Science

There's an art—and a lot of science—to a consistent cup of coffee

Follow your nose, leopard shark.

Leopard Sharks Navigate With Their Noses

After being kidnapped and dropped off at sea, the sharks picked up on olfactory cues to find their way back home

Adding Faint Scents to Healthy Food Could Make it Taste Better

Scents of salty food may be all it takes to make low-salt items delicious

Eau de Death: Perfumer Develops Scents Based on Dead Loved Ones

A French perfumer is attempting to harness the emotional power of scent

Men and Women See Things Differently (No, Literally)

Color perception may actually have something to do with gender

As We Get Older We Get More Tolerant of Discordant Music

Hearing loss isn’t the only thing that changes our music perception as we age

Here’s Why Your Eyes Seem to Be Wired 'Backward'

Light has to pass through nerve cells to get to the rods and cones, but that order is no mistake

Scientists Have Been Studying Two Fake Human Pheromones for Decades

Two chemicals provided by a perfume company appear in a 1991 research paper and side-track years of work on human pheromones

A Prado visitor touches a 3-D printed replica of a contemporaneous copy of the "Mona Lisa."

Please Touch the Art: 3-D Printing Helps Visually Impaired Appreciate Paintings

The new "Touching the Prado" exhibit in Madrid showcases 3-D replicas of paintings, so blind visitors can feel key works of art

Meet the Man Who Can Taste Words

For some, taste mixes with other sense—a form of synesthesia that isn't as common as experiencing the colors of words

Dabbling around for a meal.

Ducks Help Explain How We Feel All the Feels

Highly sensitive nerves in duck bills are offering clues to the way we experience the sense of touch

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