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  • NEWS FEATURE

The biology of smell is a mystery — AI is helping to solve it

Scientists are beginning to crack the fiendishly complex code that helps us to sense odours.
  1. Kerri Smith
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Animated illustration showing a nose smelling the complex aromas of a flower, surrounded by digital elements that are analysing the smell.

Illustration by Adrià Voltà

The smell in the laboratory was new. It was, in the language of the business, tenacious: for more than a week, the odour clung to the paper on which it had been blotted.

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Nature 633, 26-29 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02833-4

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