Electronic noses are nothing new –- scientists have been trying to build the perfect research shnoz for quite a while. The newest iteration, from researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology is supposed to mimic the olfactory systems of animals. It’s not a simple task — while human noses have 350 different types of sensory neurons, dogs and mice have hundreds more. Identifying different smells is a process of deciding on major categories (fruity versus vanilla ice cream) and then breaking down the smell into more defining characteristics (banana versus mango). The researchers are now testing the nose to find how each sensor works -– and train it to recognize the chemical signatures of different smelly compounds.