An interview with Dora Goldsmith on recreating Cleopatra’s perfume

An in depth interview by scent historian Caro Verbeek with Egyptologist Dora Goldsmith on the reconstruction of Cleopatra’s perfume; one of the most enigmatic scents of the antique world I already had Cleopatra’s nose (at least that’s what I am often told), and now thanks to Dora Goldsmith I smelled ...
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Zapp Topdoks over geur

This post is only in Dutch. See other posts in English Elbrich Postma, reuk- en smaakonderzoeker aan de Wageningen Universiteit, heeft afgelopen zondag bij Zapp Topdoks laten zien dat mensen eigenlijk hele goede neuzen hebben, door de presentatoren Rachel en dokter Elbert over de grond te laten kruipen en te ...
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Upcoming: NOSE symposium at the NVP Winterconference

NOSE will organize a symposium, focused on olfaction, at the Winterconference organized by the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychonomie. More details will follow soon! Check out the Events page for this event ...
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Aankomende vrijdag: De Smaak van Joël op NPO2, met NOSE member Sanne Boesveldt

Komende vrijdag (19 juli), om 21:15 op NPO 2: de Smaak van Joel, over aromatiseren als kooktechniek. Met oa NOSE member Sanne Boesveldt-de Gier die het verschil tussen ortho- en retronasaal ruiken uitlegt. Of kijk het terug: https://www.npostart.nl/de-smaak-van-joel/KN_1708778 ...
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Watch this TEDx video on our sense of smell

Rachel Herz visited Wageningen as a keynote speaker for the Women in Olfactory Science symposium 2019. Recently, she also spoke at a TEDx event about our amazing sense of smell: How does our nose work? Why do we need our sense of smell? What happens when we lose our sense ...
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Manifesto on smell culture

During her closing statements at the Art & Olfaction Awards Caro Verbeek recited her 'soft manifesto on smell culture' accompanied by the smell of roses in the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam. Olfaction is often described as being underestimated. But this hasn't always been the case. Read about the role of smell in ...
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Inhaling Knowledge: The Nose as an Educational Tool

Caro Verbeek wrote an article on how to improve education by using the olfactory sense as another window to the world: According to educationalist Maria Montessori, training the senses in young children was essential for their understanding of the world, concepts and even moral. In this article I explore the role olfaction can play for adults in higher education, considering that ...
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Video from De Universiteit van Nederland: on smell and the relation to eating behavior (Dutch only)

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Highlights from the inaugural NOSE scientific meeting

Despite the long and illustrious history of olfaction research in the Netherlands (e.g., Hendrik
Zwaardemaker from Utrecht University invented the olfactometer in 1888), there has never been a
dedicated national platform for olfactory researchers and allied parties to meet and exchange the
latest research perspectives. On November 15th the inaugural NOSE scientific meeting was held at
Utrecht University. The meeting included speakers from a range of disciplines (from medicine to art
history), and highlighted the breadth of olfactory research present today in the Netherlands. We
present some highlights of the events for those budding odour enthusiasts who were unable to
attend, and for those enthusiastic attendees who would like to relive the day.

Sanne Boesveldt (Wageningen University) discussed how olfactory cues can affect appetite and
eating behaviour, raising questions about when odours can be effective cues for food, and whether
they could be manipulated to increase healthy food behaviour. Peter de Jong (University of
Groningen) introduced how odour can be used in psychopathology and explained how disgust odours
can affect sexual behaviour. Garmt Dijksterhuis (Wageningen University) strongly argued olfactory
transmission is an unlikely possibility, highlighting differences between olfaction and vision and
sound. Andrea Evers (Leiden University) raised the question of whether odours can be useful in
placebo research and provided evidence that odours can condition physiological responses. Rob
Holland (Radboud University) again highlighted the relationship between disgust and odour, showing
that disgusting pictures can lower olfactory threshold, implying we become more attuned to odour
when we’re in a state of disgust. Asifa Majid (Radboud University) added a cross-cultural perspective,
showing that although vision language dominates across languages, in some cultures elaborate odour
lexicons exist. With an interactive odour presentation, Caro Verbeek (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
explored historical smells and taught us how to “look at art with an olfactory gaze”. Wilbert Boek
(Hospital Gelderse Vallei) discussed odour from the perspective of an ENT doctor, and emphasised
the effect anosmia can have on one’s daily life, and how the medical profession should be more
aware of its importance. The meeting ended with Monique Smeets (Utrecht University), describing
her work on the role of odour in social signalling, for example, the odour of fearful sweat can lead to
fear expressions, and the odour of happy sweat can lead to happy expressions.
After this fascinating first meeting, we look forward to hearing from new members, and to further
olfactory events in the near future.

Laura Speed