News: – NOSE

Two TEDx talks by NOSE members

At the TEDx event hosted by the Hotelschool Den Haag, NOSE members Jasper de Groot and Caro Verbeek had the opportunity to talk about what interests them the most right now. In his TEDx talk, Jasper de Groot talks about our human sense of smell. For millennia, we have been ...

illustration of hands holding up flowers with the text "March 8 international women's day"

Happy International Women’s Day!

The Netherlands Olfactory Science Exchange is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of olfactory science. We believe in a world where everyone, regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity, has equal opportunities to pursue their passions and achieve their goals. We recognize that biases, stereotypes, and discrimination ...

Een smaakvolle, aromatische podcast met Garmt Dijksterhuis

Op Wereld Anosmiedag (27 februari) staan we stil bij het belang van ons reukvermogen bij het ervaren van smaak. In deze radio-aflevering en podcast spreekt NOSE member Garmt Dijksterhuis, geur- en smaakpsycholoog, over hoe onze zintuigen samenwerken om ons te laten genieten van heerlijk eten, zoals warme gerechten en vers ...

Anosmia Awareness Day 2023!

Although the corona pandemic is over, that doesn’t mean smell loss is no longer an issue. For a lot of people, anosmia but also other forms of smell dysfunction, such as parosmia, are still real, and could be long-lasting. Smell is important for many aspects in our daily lives – ...

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On the origin of the Netherlands Olfaction Science Exchange (NOSE)

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.

Laura Speed