Exposure to PM2.5 – the collective name for small airborne pollution particles, largely from the combustion of fuels in vehicles, power stations and our homes – has previously been linked with "olfactory dysfunction", but typically only in occupational or industrial settings. But new research is now starting to reveal the true scale – and the potential damage caused by – the pollution we breathe in every day.

— Read more in Is air pollution causing us to lose our sense of smell? at BBC.

"Critically, across cultures, the perceived relative pleasantness of odorants seems to be equally robust—our effects are not driven by the peculiarities of one or two odorants or limited by the sample size of participants. This is striking and is contrary to what would have been predicted from a cultural relativity perspective,” the authors wrote.

— Researchers look at the influence of culture on odor preference. Read more in What’s Your Favorite Smell? at Psychology Today.

It wasn't that our extinct relatives could smell scents undetectable to humans, or vice versa. Instead, the Denisovan turned out to have a more sensitive nose than humans, while Neanderthals seemed to have weaker noses — especially, in one group, for stinky body odors.

— Read more in Some Neanderthals couldn't smell their own stink, suggests a new study recreating early humans' noses at Business Insider.