These 15 molecules trigger Covid smell disorder

By Rebecca Trager2022-06-01T13:30:00

A white woman with brown hair wearing a white shirt and blue cardigan, sitting on a brown sofa chair. She's smelling a cup of coffee, a deeply disgusted look on her facecoffee

Source: © Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock

Researchers identify compounds that trigger parosmia, the condition that makes coffee smell like burning rubbish

For many people 2-furanmethanethiol may smell like their favourite roast coffee, but for others it’s as disgusting as burning rubbish. The compound is one of the 15 that chemists have identified as triggering parosmia, a condition that makes certain things smell burnt, rotten, fecal or otherwise unpleasant.