Electronic Nose Is No Joke

Let the April Fools’ Day pranks begin! Google's merry pranksters are off to a running start with a promotional video for the company's new scent-based search tool: Google Nose. Unlike Google glasses, the Google nose is actually a joke, but the concept of an artificial nose is totally real. The Washington Post's Wonkblog dug up an old episode of This American Life about the California-based company Cyrano Sciences, which is currently working on a real life electronic schnoz. Equipped with a database of smells, the plastic snouts could be used by doctors to sniff out pneumonia and other illnesses that are particularly potent or to detect gas leaks in factories.