Smelling the menu

Mice use their breath to tell each other what's good to eat

For most people, catching a whiff of someone’s pizza breath doesn’t inspire cravings for a slice. But for rodents, any food smell combined with breath odor sends an irresistible “eat this” message to the brain. Now scientists have uncovered exactly how the signal gets transmitted.

MMM, CHEESY BREATH When a mouse sniffs a pal’s breath, the combined odor of food and carbon disulfide signals snacks that are safe for consumption.