Poor sense of smell? Good luck with your sex life… The study found that men suffering from anosmia had on average five times fewer sexual partners than those with a full sense of smell and displayed “much less explorative sexual behaviour”. This was not the case with women, though the research Anosmia – the partial, selective or total inability to shows that female sufferers are less likely to feel smell – is thought to affect up to 1 in 5,000 people. safe and secure in a relationship than women with As well as a loss of olfaction, sufferers often find their full olfactory perception. sense of taste severely affected. It is also thought to have a negative psychological effect on social be- While anosmia is often inherited, it can also result from head trauma, viruses and nasal polyps. Alhaviour. though some forms of anosmia are temporary or A German study, published in the February edition of Biologoical Psychology, has found that partial or total anosmia can affect social interaction and make it harder for individuals to find a sexual partner.
can be treated, many instances remain permanent debilitations. The study backs up anecdotal evidence on the distressing effect that anosmia can have on a sufferer’s romantic life. As Anita Chang, writing for the Associated Press, puts it: “Not having my sense of smell has made kissing quite dull. The excitement, the intimacy of knowing a person’s smell is gone. For me now, kissing is like eating theatre popcorn without the butter. I know I’m missing the best part.” Ben McCabe
Can We Live Forever? Eternal life is something humans have dreamt of for thousands of years. From as early as 200 BC people were trying to reverse aging: the first Emperor of China was killed eating mercury in an attempt to become immortal. But can science make eternal life something more than a futile hope? Age, disease and trauma (e.g. falling off a cliff) are the three things that threaten life. As our medical knowledge grows, the latter two are being challenged, with the number of survivors of diseases and serious accidents rising yearly. Curing old age, however, is lagging behind the others. In April 2011, scientists in Israel announced something long considered science fiction: they had reversed some of the effects of old age. The immune system grows weaker with age, as fewer white blood cells are active to fight diseases that in youth would not affect us so negatively. The scientists came up with a relatively simple solution: they removed the old white blood cells from mice, forcing the body to replace the lost cells and increase the strength of the immune system. This was the first major achievement in the reversal of ageing.
been found to increase the lifespan of fish. Other to be desired, future advancements may include chemicals have been shown to delay death in mice, replication of the way a human looks, feels and but none have been tested thoroughly on humans. moves, providing an appealing way to extend life.
“Attempts are being made to put a person’s mind into a robotic body within ten years”
Nanorobots may also provide life enhancing benefits: swarms of tiny robots could hypothetically live in a person’s blood stream, repairing damage, killing cancerous cells and protecting the body from disease.
In Russia, attempts are being made to put a person’s Will science enable us to live forever? If I’m still mind into a robotic body within ten years. The project around in a few hundred years, I’ll let you know. - called ‘Avatar’ - may be a little too Doctor Who for Certain chemicals are also being studied. some peoples’ tastes, but for others the prospect is Timothy Winstanley Resveratrol has anti cancer properties, and has exciting. Although robots currently still leave much Image by Harry Dinsdale www.impactnottingham.com/science
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