最新の学識を踏まえ、ヒトとそのほかの哺乳類、昆虫、魚類などの嗅覚について解説します。嗅覚はどのように進化し、動物はどのようにこれをナビゲーション、コミュニケーションに利用しているのか、そしてヒトの嗅覚はなぜ鈍いのかを見ていきます。特に神経生物学の観点から嗅覚を理解するのは困難ながら、においの感知や好き嫌いの個人差には遺伝因子が係わっていることが明らかになっています。嗅覚障害の治療の未来や、ロボットの世界における嗅覚の役割についても考えを巡らせます。
　　

• Summarises the latest neurobiological research on smell, in humans and other mammals, as well as in insects and fish
• Discusses how our genes determine what we can and cannot smell, and why some people like a given smell and others do not
• Explores how animals use smell to navigate and communicate
• Considers the future of smell in a world of robots and climate change

   
Our sense of smell - or olfaction as it is technically known - is our most enigmatic sense. It can conjure up memories, taking us back to very specific places and emotions, whilst powerful smells can induce strong feelings of hunger or nausea. In the animal kingdom smell can be used to find food, a mate, or a home; to sense danger; and to send and receive complex messages with other members of a species. Yet despite its fundamental importance in our mental life and in the existence of all animals, our scientific understanding of how smell works is limited.
    
In this Very Short Introduction, Matthew Cobb describes the latest scientific research on smell in humans and other mammals, in insects, and even in fish. He looks at how smell evolved, how animals use it to navigate and communicate, and disorders of smell in humans. Understanding smell, especially its neurobiology, has proved a big challenge, but olfactory science has revealed genetic factors that determine what we can and cannot smell, and why some people like a given smell while others find it unbearable. He ends by considering future treatments for smell disorders, and speculating on the role of smell in a world of robots.