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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Smell-ter"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
(DOES NOT FULLY MATCH AUDIO)
YOU CAN HEAR METAL. BUT, CAN YOU SMELL IT? THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. WHEN YOU HANDLE METAL OBJECTS, SUCH AS KEYS OR COINS, WOULD YOU SAY THAT THE METAL HAS A SMELL? SURE--WE ALL KNOW THAT FAMILIAR "METALLIC" ODOR. BUT, NEW RESEARCH OUT OF VIRGINIA TECH TELLS US THAT METAL ACTUALLY HAS NO SMELL: WHAT YOU ARE PERCEIVING AS THE SMELL OF METAL IS COMING FROM YOU; IT IS THE CHEMICAL REACTION THAT HAPPENS WHEN METAL COMES IN CONTACT WITH YOUR SKIN, OR OTHER ORGANIC SUBSTANCES. THE MOLECULES IN THAT SMELL CONTAIN NO METAL. THE MAKE-UP OF THE MOLECULES ERUPTING INTO THE AIR--AND UP YOUR NOSE--DEPENDS ON WHICH ORGANIC SUBSTANCE IS REACTING WITH THE METAL. IN THE SAME WAY, THAT "BLOOD" SCENT MAY COME FROM YOUR SKIN REACTING WITH THE IRON IN YOUR BLOOD. THAT'S WHERE THIS NEW RESEARCH SHOWS REAL PROMISE: YOU SEE, SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY DISEASE MARKERS IN SWEAT OR OTHER BODY FLUIDS. THERE ARE ALSO POTENTIAL USES IN HELPING TO IDENTIFY PROBLEM ODORS IN DRINKING WATER. A CHANGE IN OUR THINKING ABOUT THAT HANDFUL OF CHANGE; JUST REMEMBER, THE "CENT" DOESN'T REALLY HAVE A "SCENT". THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
