On the scent: a journey through the science of smell

In On the Scent Paolo Pelosi takes his readers on a journey through an imaginary city, where different streets are identified by different types of odour molecules, as he attempts to map out the olfactory system. Head done one street and you find the terpenoids, responsible for the fresh scents of many plants; down another you’ll find the phenols with their recognisable disinfectant smell.