Unlocking the power of smell

As humans, our sense of smell tells us a lot about our surroundings and whether something is potentially good or harmful. Dr Melissa Jordan is an olfactory expert who has studied the evolution of olfaction in animals and insects including tuatara. She is also working to harness the biology that gives certain insects the ability to detect smells unnoticeable to us and turn it into sniffing devices that can be used to detect diseases in humans and biosecurity threats.