Smell was once a heck of a sense; now, not so much.
The human nose doesn't always know.According to the latest research, we do not all smell the same thing when we walk through a flower-studded meadow in April or a fetid alley in August.
As neuroscientist Charles Wysocki sees it, we all live in different sensory worlds.
Ilustração: TONY AUTH / The Philadelphia Inquirer (tauth@phillynews.com)
Some people can't smell cilantro. Some can't smell truffles. And thanks to research at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in West Philadelphia, it's been scientifically documented that some can't detect the funky odor of post-asparagus-eating urine.
The reason we're all smelling so differently tells a story about our evolution from much keener-smelling ancestors. Evolution doesn't always lead to sharper senses - it can lead to duller ones if they become less crucial for survival. The evidence for this is in the fossil record as well as in genetic fossils - dead genes lurking in our DNA.
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