Friday, July 3, 2026
Science

Mammals use the same underlying system—preserved through evolution—to process smells

Picture a mouse taking rapid, staccato sniffs of a crumb it's found while foraging for food. Now compare that with a human leaning in for a single, deep inhale to gauge whether a cantaloupe is ripe. New research from Northwestern University has found that, like humans, mice also can take a single sn...

Mammals use the same underlying system—preserved through evolution—to process smells
Image: Phys.org
Picture a mouse taking rapid, staccato sniffs of a crumb it's found while foraging for food. Now compare that with a human leaning in for a single, deep inhale to gauge whether a cantaloupe is ripe. New research from Northwestern University has found that, like humans, mice also can take a single sniff to deliberately probe their environment—something scientists previously did not know.

Originally published at Phys.org

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