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Whether you yawn, gasp, sniff, snore, or sigh, you\u2019re availing yourself of our very special atmosphere. It\u2019s easy to take this invisible chemical cocktail for granted, but it\u2019s not only essential to your existence: it unites you and every other life form on the planet, dead or alive.\xa0The next breath you take likely includes molecules exhaled by Julius Caesar or Eleanor Roosevelt.\nAnd for some animals, air is an information superhighway. Dogs navigate with their noses.\xa0Their sniffing snouts help them to identify their owners, detect trace amounts of drugs, and even sense some diseases.\xa0Find out what a dog\u2019s nose knows, and why no amount of bathing and dousing in perfume can mask your personal smelliness.\nPlus, why your own schnoz is key to not only enjoying a fine Bordeaux, but to survival of our species.\nGuests:\n\n\nSam Kean\xa0\u2013\xa0Science writer, author of \u201cCaesar\u2019s Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us\u201d\xa0\n\n\nKen Givich\xa0\u2013\xa0Microbiologist, Guittard Chocolate company\n\n\nAlexandra Horowitz\xa0\u2013\xa0Dog cognition researcher, Barnard College, author of \u201cBeing A Dog: Following the Dog Into a World of Smell\u201d\xa0\n\n\nRachel Herz\xa0\u2013\xa0Cognitive neuroscientist, Brown University, author of\xa0\u201cWhy You Eat What You Eat,\u201d and \u201cThe Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell\u201d\xa0\n\n\xa0\nOriginally aired December 4, 2017\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices