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Why Smell Matters More Than You Think | Paule Joseph | TED

TED Fellow and chemosensory researcher Paule Joseph unveils the hidden power of a sense that’s too often overlooked: smell. She delves into the science behind smell — from how it evokes memory and emotion to its potential for early disease detection — and advocates for the creation of a baseline test for taste and smell…

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TED Fellow and chemosensory researcher Paule Joseph unveils the hidden power of a sense that’s too often overlooked: smell. She delves into the science behind smell — from how it evokes memory and emotion to its potential for early disease detection — and advocates for the creation of a baseline test for taste and smell that could open the door to more comprehensive health care. (Recorded at TED Fellows Films 2024 on April 16, 2024)

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61 Comments

61 Comments

  1. @Emily-r8j1z

    March 3, 2025 at 7:09 am

    Your channel is like a carnival in the world of entertainment and laughter. Continue to delight us with your entertaining and funny videos!🚎🫰🐩

    • @BonnieShadow33

      March 3, 2025 at 1:52 pm

      Funny? What about this was funny?

  2. @Mia-v7v9o

    March 3, 2025 at 7:10 am

    Every time I admire your professionalism and creativity. Thank you for your hard work and effort!🏚♂️🕶

  3. @sooma-ai

    March 3, 2025 at 7:11 am

    Paule Joseph, a chemosensory scientist, discusses the importance of smell in health and emotions. She advocates for standardized smell testing to detect diseases early and improve overall well-being, highlighting smell’s connection to memory and its potential in healthcare.

  4. @aarons4716

    March 3, 2025 at 7:17 am

    FEET

  5. @sageohio1864

    March 3, 2025 at 7:24 am

    Lost the sense of smell and taste from head injury 10 yrs ago

    • @jamesm8965

      March 3, 2025 at 7:16 pm

      Lost mine from brain surgery last month. Won’t ever be the same.

    • @paulevaleryjoseph

      March 3, 2025 at 7:36 pm

      @@jamesm8965I am sorry James!

  6. @dxbRa3elVTCdxb

    March 3, 2025 at 7:31 am

    It only smellz

  7. @DominionAnako-bb7ry

    March 3, 2025 at 7:39 am

    It smells beautiful

  8. @danny41992

    March 3, 2025 at 8:04 am

    Absolutely fascinating. Great work and information, thank you.

  9. @EsquirePhotography

    March 3, 2025 at 8:04 am

    I lost my sense of smell and taste in the first round of the OG covid. I’ve seen the best doctors and neurosurgeons at Mayo and it’s never coming back. Totally sucks.

    • @BonnieShadow33

      March 3, 2025 at 1:45 pm

      So sorry to hear that… I sure hope they figure out a way to restore it!

    • @kemageorge2194

      March 3, 2025 at 4:20 pm

      Don’t lose hope. I lost mine completely in 2017. For the last month, it’s been coming back on and off every few days. I was told it may never return as well.

    • @EsquirePhotography

      March 3, 2025 at 5:25 pm

      @ I hope so!

    • @EsquirePhotography

      March 3, 2025 at 5:26 pm

      @ It’s a crazy way to live and I’m always hoping that God will restore it in the future. If not, I’ll be restored in my second life.

    • @kemageorge2194

      March 3, 2025 at 8:02 pm

      @@EsquirePhotography I pray God will restore it for you too. And you are right, if not your life on earth then you will have it in eternity.

  10. @Lora_Lynn

    March 3, 2025 at 8:36 am

    A wakeup call, an education I never considered. Thank you❤️

  11. @kevinl4966

    March 3, 2025 at 8:47 am

    Thank you.

  12. @saloreichovec

    March 3, 2025 at 9:06 am

    The smell of gasoline❤

  13. @edwardhovitz1753

    March 3, 2025 at 9:06 am

    First cut of clover hay in the spring in Wisconsin USA… one of the best smells ever for me.

  14. @starrebirth88

    March 3, 2025 at 9:10 am

    My sense of smell has decreased this past few years but unsure what have caused it. I have been in a lot of trauma and has not been presently living. I noticed if i am more present, the more i can smell. I feel there’s a connection but unsure of the science behind it. 😅

    • @muhammadnasirabbasi4646

      March 3, 2025 at 9:42 am

      I agree everything starts to improve when we learn to be present in the moment n live our life mindfullu

    • @BonnieShadow33

      March 3, 2025 at 1:51 pm

      Trauma makes it more difficult to notice sensory information. It’s not that your nose isn’t working; it’s that the brain is too busy focusing on other things to be able to notice it. This is why grounding in the present uses deliberately focusing on sensory input to distract the mind from all the intrusive thoughts. It really helps.

    • @sarahdjinn593

      March 4, 2025 at 4:10 am

      I’ve been there! I just commented before looking at comments. I was aware of the possibility of working to turn back on my recognition of smell before COVID. Now not sure how much of it I can get back, but I finally feel ready to try. Strength for your process of recovery! 💓

  15. @GenRicOpekc

    March 3, 2025 at 9:45 am

    Great info. Thanks!

  16. @DS-pe8tt

    March 3, 2025 at 9:57 am

    What about those with fragrance sensitivity? that causes a negative experience around most fragrances.

    • @BonnieShadow33

      March 3, 2025 at 1:49 pm

      Yeah, it really sucks to be that sensitive. For me, thankfully it’s only certain fragrances that are really strong, but for me they can trigger an asthma attack, not so much feeling overstimulated. Either way, though, it really sucks.

  17. @IODBaaL

    March 3, 2025 at 10:37 am

    Isn’t the smell of „chlorine“ just Urin 🤣?

    • @BonnieShadow33

      March 3, 2025 at 1:52 pm

      No. Most definitely not.

    • @paulevaleryjoseph

      March 3, 2025 at 7:37 pm

      😂😂😂

  18. @Saigon-Swiller

    March 3, 2025 at 10:46 am

    Fresh cut grass …that one smell unlocks memories of Summers as a kid

  19. @sray486

    March 3, 2025 at 11:32 am

    I had a temporary loss of smell for 4-5 days when I had COVID like symptoms. I went paranoid until it came back in 😢

  20. @homewall744

    March 3, 2025 at 11:49 am

    Who “ignores” smell?

  21. @Zenithx3

    March 3, 2025 at 12:16 pm

    Brilliant. We have long overlooked something sitting directly in front of our face, medically.
    The evolution of smell must have been Very early.
    Perhaps we should stop and smell the roses.

    • @pockets4230

      March 3, 2025 at 3:05 pm

      Touch first is quite obvious(Cellular). Elephants have a massive nose AND a very strong sense of smell!

    • @Zenithx3

      March 3, 2025 at 4:49 pm

      @@pockets4230 All senses are in fact, chemical, not cellular.

    • @pockets4230

      March 3, 2025 at 4:55 pm

      @Zenithx3  I thought cells move around though, like with replication. Touching each other.

    • @pockets4230

      March 3, 2025 at 4:59 pm

      Forgive me I’m an idiot. You know what I mean lol.

    • @Zenithx3

      March 3, 2025 at 5:11 pm

      @ You are Not an idiot. Cells do travel and can function as signal carriers, but most signals are chemicals that bind to receptors on cells causing a cellular reaction.
      A good example of a cellular signal would be B-cells that produce antibodies.
      A good example of a chemical signal would be hormones.

  22. @MaxKoschuh

    March 3, 2025 at 2:45 pm

    I have lost my ability to smell in 1996 🤨

  23. @Lauragonzalez-of1cp

    March 3, 2025 at 4:19 pm

    I was born without a sense of smell, why is that?

    • @paulevaleryjoseph

      March 3, 2025 at 5:17 pm

      Congenital anosmia. Check out STANA

    • @paulevaleryjoseph

      March 4, 2025 at 4:25 am

      Laura, some people are born without a sense of smell due to a rare condition called congenital anosmia. This happens when there is an inherent genetic disorder or the olfactory system, which controls smell, doesn’t develop normally before birth. check out STANA which is an advocacy group and there is a group of congenital anosmia/

  24. @kemageorge2194

    March 3, 2025 at 4:24 pm

    Lost the ability to smell in 2017. Such a huge impact on my everyday life. About one month ago, I had an instance where I was able to smell and it’s been on and off since then. It’s overwhelming when it’s “on” BUT I am grateful when it happens nonetheless. Where there’s life, there’s hope. I gave up on ever smelling again and out of no where, it’s been coming back.

  25. @obinnakabiri007

    March 3, 2025 at 7:50 pm

    The smell of rain gives hope to life!

  26. @atoz247

    March 3, 2025 at 9:13 pm

    2:50 the key point

  27. @TiruneshUfayiso-e1u9r

    March 4, 2025 at 12:36 am

    Thank you so much ❤❤

  28. @sarahdjinn593

    March 4, 2025 at 3:30 am

    It’s also a fantastic way to stay rooted in the present moment. After prolonged trauma, people often tune out and shut down their sense of smell as a way to escape the experience of existing in the spatial 3D world present because it is associated with pain and fear. But recovery necessitates returning to it and getting out of the abstraction of the mind. So making an effort to turn back on the sense of smell can help with this. It also encourages deeper rather than shallow breathing, which is great because shallow breathing signifies danger to the brain and body.

  29. @sabaparveen2682

    March 4, 2025 at 5:24 am

    Anything about halitosis?

  30. @AlphaLibre9

    March 4, 2025 at 5:52 am

    What happens to someone who can’t smell compared to someone at a young age who doesn’t?

    • @paulevaleryjoseph

      March 4, 2025 at 7:41 am

      Dear Alpha can you elaborate a bit more on your question and I will be happy to answer if I have one.

  31. @souldatoon

    March 4, 2025 at 6:09 am

    Wow, this is such a fascinating perspective! I never really thought about how deeply connected our sense of smell is to memory and emotions. It’s amazing to think about how something as simple as a scent can transport us to different places and times in our lives. Also, the idea of using smell tests as a diagnostic tool is so interesting. It’s crazy that something so vital often gets overlooked in health assessments. Thanks for sharing your insights; it’s opened my eyes to the importance of something I usually take for granted! 🌸🍞💭

    • @paulevaleryjoseph

      March 4, 2025 at 7:40 am

      Thank you for watching! Here to serve! 😊

  32. @MsCurious-po6zo

    March 4, 2025 at 7:50 am

    Video reminded me of my old school competition, in which stood 2nd in smell test 😂😁

  33. @GlassFullIsh

    March 4, 2025 at 10:10 am

    As an adult woman born in England of ethnic minority approaching 30 years of age who has never had a sense of smell but has still not been diagnosed with congenital anosmia. I can tell you as a fact that having no sense of smell has a detrimental impact on a person’s well-being as we live in a world where the majority do have a sense of smell and they’re able to navigate so many different situations, including in terms of health and safety and personal hygiene because of their gift of the sense of smell. My point in sharing this is please be aware that there are some of us in the world who do not have this sense of smell and it is not as widely recognised as blindness and deafness and that you should be incredibly grateful that you are able to go about your life with the gift of a sense of smell because it allows you to enjoy and do and have so much. Thank you and hope you all have a fantastic rest of your week.

    • @GlassFullIsh

      March 4, 2025 at 10:14 am

      And I must admit, I as much as I try to be happy for people who have a sense of smell, it saddens me to know just how much I’m missing out on. This disability alone would be bad enough but I also have prurigo nodularis, Fibromyalgia, dysmenorrhea, No feminine developments despite identifying and born as female, and other visible differences. Whilst I feel for those who do not have a sense of sight and hearing which could be argued are much worse disabilities than having no sense of smell, I feel compelled to share that I do miss out on so much including the sense that the woman in the video alludes to. I have never been able to smell. Food flowers, perfumes, dangerous scents, pleasant scents anything at all and it makes me feel like there is so much wrong with me. But as long as awareness is being raised and perhaps possible treatments are in the works for the future, I can accept this

    • @GlassFullIsh

      March 4, 2025 at 10:15 am

      I’m really grateful that this video has come about and I hope it shared widely so that people, if nothing else express much more gratitude for their sense of smell and I can only pray that a miracle happens whereby even just for a day I could experience a gift of a sense of smell.

  34. @matthewjay660

    March 4, 2025 at 11:33 am

    I lost my sense of smell for about 2-3 months after I had the Delta variant. I remember getting my sense of smell back. I was on the toilet and I was like, “Hey! I can smell this. Finally!” My sense of smell was turned back on like a light switch. 👃🏻🚽

    • @paulevaleryjoseph

      March 4, 2025 at 7:49 pm

      That would do it 🚽 😂😂

  35. @raduandreiq

    March 4, 2025 at 4:00 pm

    Very interesting!! Thanks!

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