[klyrs]

It seems safe to assume she has an especially good nose -- I figure she's the olfactory version of a tetrachromat[1] or supertaster[2]. She also had a relatively rare coincidence where she married somebody before his Parkinson's presented, and she witnessed its progression. I would assume that she isn't globally unique in her ability, but finding others with it is a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem: how do you efficiently screen for this without knowing the precise compounds are to be targeted?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrachromacy

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster

[wolverine876]

> It seems safe to assume she has an especially good nose

I wouldn't assume anything. And it might not be related to sensitivity in general, but sensitivity to a particular chemical. (Also, is the perception of smell tied only to sensory aparatus in the nose?)

> finding others with it is a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem: how do you efficiently screen for this without knowing the precise compounds are to be targeted?

Expose them to people with Parkinson's; based on her experience, it seems like a quick test. In her case, they tested it with t-shirts worn by people with Parkinson's.

[klyrs]

> Expose them to people with Parkinson's; based on her experience, it seems like a quick test. In her case, they tested it with t-shirts worn by people with Parkinson's.

I guess, a nice impact of this story is that people with Parkinson's are gonna see it and ask their friends, "do I have a smell?" If she's not rare, we'll find out.