Why do all animals have noses? And why is this nose, this highly developed sense of smell, essential for survival, reproduction, communication and pleasure? Answers as varied as they are unexpected in the latest work of neuroscientist Gérard Brand, specialist in olfaction.
Whatever their shape or size, from the elephant to the smallest bacteria, including the lizard, the ant, the chickadee or the sow, all living beings are endowed with a very sophisticated olfactory system, which is essential and vital as well for marking their territory, locating themselves in space, looking for their food and their sexual partners, recognizing each other among congeners, transmitting chemical messages and avoiding predators… But how does the sense of smell of animals work?
With Gérard Brandneuroscience researcher at the University of Besançon for the book the sense of smell of animals published by EDP Sciences