THE GUARDIAN: Not to be sniffed at: human sense of smell rivals that of dogs, says study

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“Man smells poorly,” Aristotle wrote, while Charles Darwin concluded that a sense of smell was of “extremely slight service” to the civilised human. When it comes to detecting odours, we have long dismissed human abilities as second-rate.

Now this view has been challenged in a scientific analysis that argues the human sense of smell has not only been underestimated, but that it may rival that of dogs and rodents.

Matthew Cobb, professor of zoology at Manchester University, said the review had altered his own perspective on a study that he has focused on for much of his career. “We have this myth that humans can’t smell very much,” he said. “McGann’s exploring the actual evidence for that, which it turns out is fairly poor. It’s going to change my teaching next year.”