Includes bibliographical references (pages 258-263) and index.

1. Smells and molecules. Molecules in the air : smells in our everyday life -- Smells and molecules : chemical analysis in the nose -- Sniffing our way around : a walk among smells -- The olfactory code : a chemical language -- 2. Messengers of sex and danger. Insect pheromones : fatal attraction -- Mammalian pheromones : smelling ranks and kinship -- 3. Proteins and smells. The biochemistry of olfaction : odorants meet the proteins -- Odorant-binding proteins : a family of versatile molecules -- Receptors and beyond : from odorants to emotions -- 4. At the edge of imagination. Science or magic? : the debate on human pheromones -- Digital olfaction : detecting and reproducing smells -- Conclusion.

"In humans, the perception of odours adds a fourth dimension to life, from the scent of flowers, the aroma of foods, and all the subtle smells in the environment. But how many types of odours can we distinguish? Why do we like the food we like? Which are the most powerful odorants, and how well does the human sense of smell perform compared with that of a dog or a butterfly? The sense of smell is highly complex, and such complexity discouraged scientists for a long time, leaving the world of smell in an atmosphere of mystery. Only recently, thanks to the new tools furnished by molecular biology and neuroscience, are we beginning to answer these questions, uncovering the hidden secrets of our sense of smell, and decoding the language used by most animals to communicate. In this book, Paolo Pelosi, one of the leading figures in the development of the science of olfaction, recounts how the chemical alphabet behind smell has been pieced together over the past three decades. Drawing on anecdotes from his own scientific career, and celebrating the rich variety of smells from herbs to flowers to roast coffee and freshly baked bread, he weaves together an account of the science behind the most elusive of our senses."--Provided by publisher.

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