News Neuroscience

COVID-19 gave new urgency to the science of restoring smell

The sense may often be an afterthought, but its loss affects people deeply

A man has lowered his face mask to smell a sliced lemon.

COVID-19 and other viral illnesses can steal a person’s ability to smell.  New methods aim to restore the sense.

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By Laura Sanders

- More than 2 years ago

It was the juice that tipped him off. At lunch, Ícaro de A.T. Pires found the flavor of his grape juice muted, flattened into just water with sugar.