Smelling to Survive

Do hammerhead sharks smell in stereo? What do babies smell of? And can dogs sniff out the past?

Bill Hansson, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Eco- logy, recounts amazing stories from the world of olfactory research: from the tobacco plant that excretes an alarm odour, to mosquitos that cherish the smell of sweaty feet, to lilies that imitate the fragrance of horse manure.
Hansson explains why scientists are interested in the smell that surrounds teenage males, and how climate change affects the smell of our environment. He describes research trips to Christmas Island, where crabs with particularly keen noses crack coconuts on the beach, and outlines studies that reveal that penguins recognise their partner by their scent. A journey into the most colourful noses from the animal, plant and human world.