Check your subscription status, update your details and more. Is there also such a thing as an olfactory illusion? (part 4) This question was posed as part of New Scientist’s Last Word series, in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions. Here’s what our readers had to say **There are optical illusions and audio illusions.
Is there also such a thing as an olfactory illusion? (continued)** Olfactory illusions or olfactory hallucinations do exist and are described in the medical literature. The phenomenon is called phantosmia and can occur randomly in otherwise well people, but it also occurs during or after chemotherapy for various cancers. From personal experience after chemotherapy, I can vouch that the phenomenon is quite disconcerting.
The phantom smells I was aware of were often of a putrid nature, and this led me to search for sources around the house and waste bins. Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with _New Scientist_ events and special offers. #### Environment ### Falling sea levels due to El Niño will hit mangroves and corals News ### Twisteddoodles on a cat’s-eye view of science Regulars ### Tom Gauld on arriving late to the party Regulars ### Some climate damage is now unavoidable even if we clean up our act News A single antimatter particle was held in a trap for months### The world’s first spinal cord transplant has been performed in Russia### The controversial legacy of a ‘male’ theory of autism### Parasite-infected mosquitoes released in Europe for first time### Discovery of T. rex’s cousin upends our understanding of tyrannosaur evolution### UK’s rewards for North Sea drilling will be droughts, floods and fires### UN says 1.5°C is over and world is on track for 2.8°C of global warming### Hannah Fry: How OpenAI has caused an existential crisis in mathematics### Your body changes as you age and so should your diet – here’s how### Archaeologists are uncovering the meaning of a unique rock art site We and our partners use cookies and other technologies to collect user data .
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