Animal researchers say California ground squirrels and rock squirrels mask their scent by chewing up rattlesnake skin and smearing it on their fur.
— From Squirrels use snake scent for safety at earthtime.org.
Snippets
The study found African elephants reacted with fear when they detected the scent of garments previously worn by men of the Maasai tribe.
— Elephants can smell danger. Read more at BBC News. Thank you to Ruth for the link!
University of Manchester researchers found three of the oils, usually used in aromatherapy, destroyed MRSA and E.coli bacteria in two minutes.
— From Aromatherapy oils 'kill superbug', also at the BBC. But before you go looking, they won't say which oils. With thanks to Pia for the link!
It hits you like Wladimir Klitschko’s right hook and smells like his boxing shorts after 10 rounds.
— Chandler Burr on Yves Saint Laurent Kouros, in Meow Mix in today's New York Times.
Smell research: the crested auklet
University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher Hector Douglas has found that, for crested auklets, chemistry has both amorous and practical applications. The birds rub a citrus-like scent, secreted in wick-like feathers on their backs, on each other during courtship, a behavior called alloanointing.
— And the aldehydes in the scent apparently help ward off ticks. Read the rest in Science Daily.
Kids & mice
When I was a kid, kids didn't smell. At least, they didn't smell like anything other than kids. And there wasn't anything like "body spray" for boys. You had "Right Guard" deodorant, which had a purpose and was forced upon you at a certain age by parents, and aftershave, which was only to be used "after" you were old enough to shave.
— Columnist Peter McKay in Boys stockpile from grooming aisle (link no longer active, sorry!), in which his son purchases, among other things, Axe Voodoo. And in possibly related news:
Female lab mice tend to be docile, passive creatures. But by either genetically shutting down or surgically removing their ability to smell pheromones, scientists transformed them into aggressive, pelvic-thrusting, vocalizing lotharios—without any significant rise in testosterone or other steroid hormones.
— Read the rest in Scientific American.
It's all about sex…
The luscious aroma of flowers attracts lovers, and the biological role of that smell is similar: to attract pollinators. “Plants need to attract insects, bats and hummingbirds to transfer the pollen and create fertile seeds,” says Hugh Iltis, professor emeritus of botany at UW-Madison.
— From Curiosities: Why Do Flowers Smell, And Why Do Plants Smell, Too?, in Science Daily, with thanks to Ruth for the link and post title!