BBC_Science_Focus_-_08.2019

icture a world where you no longer have to

run a gauntlet of tedious, invasive tests when

you suspect that something is amiss with your

health. Instead, your smartphone or wearable

device tells you that there’s something wrong

before you have any symptoms, and suggests

that a trip to the GP might be in order, gaining

you precious time to beat the illness. One day,

perhaps you could be warned by a sensor that’s

implanted inside your body to keep tabs on

your health.

Such a world may not be that far into the future. Most

of the technology already exists, and it has been right

under our noses all along. It relies on a resource that has

been with us since the dawn of humanity: the power of

smell. Scientists believe that tapping in to this hidden

world of odours could pave the way to a major shake-up

in our approach to healthcare.

MAKING SCENTS

We constantly emit an aura of hundreds of volatile chemicals

from our skin, our breath, and potentially even our gut

microbes. Every smell is made up of a complex cocktail

of compounds – like a recipe with multiple ingredients.

Generally, these scents are too faint for us to detect, but

to animals we’re clouds of smells on legs, and they can 2

In just a few years, we could all be carrying a device in our pocket that detects the aroma of

diseases like malaria or cancer before we even realise we’re ill

byROSIE MALLETT

P

SUDEEP JOSHI/STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY X2

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