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Cloning the Smell of the Sea

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the more-than-just-dead-fish dept.

An anonymous reader wrote in with an article that opens: "Scientists from the University of East Anglia have discovered exactly what makes the seaside smell like the seaside — and bottled it. The age-old mystery was unlocked thanks to some novel bacteria plucked from the North Norfolk coast." The responsible substance, dimethyl sulfide, in addition to smelling like the coast, also acts as a homing scent for birds looking to feast on plankton.

5 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. Apparently they arent talking about New Jersey by Karma+Vampire · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think it would take alot more than ONE substance to accurately reproduce the scent of the Jersey Shore..

  2. Re:intresting by mlush · · Score: 5, Informative

    Very intresting research but why do we need to find out why the seaside smells like the seaside? I'm all for curiousity and discovering stuff, but this sounds really useless. How about a different spin on the story

    New biosynthetic pathway for dimethyl sulphide discovered

    Dimethyl sulphide is used in petroleum refining, steel mills and as a feed stock for the important solvent dimethyl sulfoxide. It is hoped that these the new bacterial synthetic pathway can replace the current polluting industrial process with a cleaner greener biosynthetic process.

  3. At last! by nmg196 · · Score: 5, Funny

    > dimethyl sulfide, in addition to smelling like the coast,
    > also acts as a homing scent for birds

    I always knew the scientists could come up with a pheromone which really does attract the birds.

    Now I can smell like the sea AND get all the hot chicks.

  4. Re:intresting by EveLibertine · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm all for curiousity and discovering stuff, but this sounds really useless.
    Obviously you don't have much of an imagination.

    The responsible substance, dimethyl sulfide, in addition to smelling like the coast, also acts as a homing scent for birds looking to feast on plankton.
    1. Find a large flat cement wall
    2. Paint a mural of a lake on it
    3. Coat with dimethyl sulfide
    4. Watch birds smash into it

    Now if that isn't reason enough why this research should considered useful, then there is something wrong with this world.
  5. Re:intresting by rawn53 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm all for curiousity and discovering stuff, but this sounds really useless.

    Result results results, eh? Science for the sake of science isn't good enough anymore?