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But we humans can’t smell it – Odors that represent food or indicate danger are capable of altering an animal’s lifespan (and ours too?) by activating a small number of highly specialized sensory neurons in our brains. Does this mean that in order to live a long life, we should surround ourselves with good smells (rather than bad ones?)

Smells can impact a wide range of health-related characteristics including athletic performance, type II diabetes, and aging. Nematode worms and fruit flies that were robbed of their ability to smell or taste, for example, lived substantially longer. However, the specific odors that control this effect on aging are unknown.
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In more ways than one – The World Trade Center (WTC) collapse on 911 has caused potentially dangerous heart problems in responders on-site.

Researcher Lori Croft says that her study “showed that responders have impaired diastolic function of both the right and left ventricle, meaning their hearts do not relax normally, which can put them at risk for heart problems such as shortness of breath and heart failure. More than 50% had abnormal relaxation of the left ventricle compared to only 7% of people of a similar age in the general population. Greater than 60% had isolated impaired diastolic function in the right ventricle of the heart, which pumps blood to the lungs.”
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You will soon be able to operate your TV and stereo with a wave of your hand and control your ear buds with your eyes, but will it be safe to drive your car using your eyes alone?

German researchers have done it: They’ve developed a new technology that lets drivers steer cars using only their eyes. The car was recently tested on the runway of a German airport, but in PhysOrg.com, Juergen Baetz quotes inventor Raul Rojas as saying, “The biggest challenge is of course to drive in a city with pedestrians and lots of obstacles.”But what if you blink? What if you’re in a convertible and something blows into your eye? Instead of making driving safer, this may make it more dangerous than ever.
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Will they be intelligent machines? Quantum physicist Stephen Hawking thinks that it’s “perfectly rational” to assume that intelligent life exists elsewhere else in the universe. But he thinks aliens should do everything possible to avoid making contact with them.
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