You're about to listen to a BBC podcast and trust me you'll get there in a moment but if you're a comedy fan

I'd really like to tell you a bit about what we do. I'm Julie Mackenzie and I commission comedy

podcast at the BBC. It's a bit of a dream job really.

Comedy is a fantastic joyous thing to do because really you're making people laugh,

making people's days a bit better, helping them process, all manner of things.

But you know I also know that comedy is really

subjective and everyone has different tastes so we've got a huge range of comedy on offer

from satire to

silly, shocking to soothing, profound to just general pratting about. So if you fancy a laugh, find your

next comedy at BBC Sounds.

Hello, I'm Jim Arkelili and this episode of the Life Scientific is all about our sense of smell.

Before we start, I'd like you all to have a good sniff around.

Maybe start with your clothes. Do you recognize the detergent you use?

And what about the objects in front of you? Your mobile phone? The radio? You get the

idea there are lots of different smells out there. In fact, the latest estimates suggest that we

humans are capable of detecting more than a trillion different smells.

My guest today, Professor Matthew Cobb, wants to know how this is possible.

But understanding the mechanics of smell in humans is too complex,

so he studies fruit flies instead, and he spent a lot of time watching maggots move across petri dishes.

But before you pigeonhole him as a narrowly focused scientist, perhaps I should also

point out that Matthew has written several books on French history,

the history of genetics and most recently the brain.

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