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Science & Technology

Scientists develop new 'white noise' smell

By T.K. Randall
November 20, 2012 · Comment icon 8 comments

Image Credit: stockxpert
The fascinating new odor known as 'olfactory white' can only be experienced inside the laboratory.
In a similar way to which white noise is a mixture of sound frequencies, the new smell was put together by combining a large number of different compounds. The resulting odor is not so much the product of any one compound but the combination of so many that it becomes no longer possible to tell them apart, a veritable overload of the olfactory senses.

So what exactly does 'olfactory white' smell like ? Volunteers invited to sample the strange new concoction agreed that it fell somewhere between pleasantness and edibility. "The best way to appreciate the qualities of olfactory white is to smell it," the team wrote.
The smell is dubbed "olfactory white," because it is the nasal equivalent of white noise, researchers report today (Nov. 19) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


Source: Yahoo! News | Comments (8)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by JGirl 12 years ago
http://news.yahoo.co...-200950214.html The new smell,which is lab created,is called "olfactory white",because its the nasal equivalent of white noise . Sounds unpleasant . this doesn't seem right it would make more sense to say that with the mixtures that contained forty different compounds the olfactory sense possibly shuts down somewhat and the testers were sensing that rather than a familiar smell. this could also answer to why this smell is vague and rather bland.
Comment icon #2 Posted by Simbi Laveau 12 years ago
I don't make the news ma'am,I just report it .
Comment icon #3 Posted by JGirl 12 years ago
I don't make the news ma'am,I just report it . lol yes i know. i was not directing that at you - it just strikes me as illogical to arrive at the conclusion they did
Comment icon #4 Posted by The Unseen 12 years ago
Man what a waste of time for them and us,Not to mention the money we give those idio..........why can't those fart brains work on something like a cure for cancer,Aids or something like that,I think they should be fired and ran out of town on a rail but not before getting tared and feathered.Makes me want to throw bricks at their heads.
Comment icon #5 Posted by Abramelin 12 years ago
Man what a waste of time for them and us,Not to mention the money we give those idio..........why can't those fart brains work on something like a cure for cancer,Aids or something like that,I think they should be fired and ran out of town on a rail but not before getting tared and feathered.Makes me want to throw bricks at their heads. Things can be related: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_cancer_detection
Comment icon #6 Posted by DKO 12 years ago
Man what a waste of time for them and us,Not to mention the money we give those idio..........why can't those fart brains work on something like a cure for cancer,Aids or something like that,I think they should be fired and ran out of town on a rail but not before getting tared and feathered.Makes me want to throw bricks at their heads. Maybe these scientists have never worked in the cancer field. They can't just start researching something they don't know much about.
Comment icon #7 Posted by BiffSplitkins 12 years ago
I discover new smells all the time. Usually it's Taco Bell related though.
Comment icon #8 Posted by Bling 12 years ago
My dog is always making new smells.


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