"It's a first-warning system that we have for danger, " says Pamela Dalton, faculty member at Monell Chemical Senses Center, a scientific-research institution.

WSJ: How to Sharpen Your Sense of Smell

Today Alemseged is the director of anthropology at the California Academy of Sciences, a multifaceted scientific institution and museum where he combines his scientific research with his passion for public education.

CNN: How Ethiopian scientist unearthed 'world's oldest child'

In 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was established in Washington as a center for scientific research from funds left at the bequest of British scientist James Smithson.

CNN: Sunday,

Late last week, the FDA approved a new med called Eylea, which is made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals ( see this), an upstart with board members that include such heavy hitters as former Merck ceo Roy Vagelos and, as of this morning, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, a former executive vp and chief scientific officer at Genentech, who is currently president of Rockefeller University, the medical research institution ( read here).

FORBES: The Eyes Have It: Can Regeneron Make Roche Blink?