New Scientist's Last Word series recently posed a curious question: can the sense of smell be tricked, just as vision can be? A reader asked directly whether such a thing as an olfactory illusion exists. The magazine published the latest set of scientific reader answers as the fourth part of the ongoing discussion.
The article's introduction explains that readers provide scientifically grounded responses to each other's questions. In this case, the replies centre on the possibility of smell being distorted, though the opening text does not preview what those answers conclude or whether they agree.
The installment's existence shows that the topic has captured enough interest to warrant multiple rounds of debate. The series continues to treat the question as one that merits careful, reader-sourced scientific explanation.