Anyone who walks through a forest on a rainy day knows the earthy scent that rises from the ground. For the Negrito people in northern Malaysia, this smell is part of their everyday life. It is one of the clues that these hunters and gatherers have used to orient themselves in one of the most species-rich ecosystems on earth for thousands of years. This way of life has left traces in the genome, as a new study suggests – in the genes that determine which scent molecules the nose registers.
