Imagine being able to smell a disease before doctors can diagnose it. Joy Milne can do exactly that. She has a rare gift that could change the way we detect illnesses like Parkinson’s.
A Strange Question at a Science Talk
It all started at a science conference. A woman named Joy Milne stood up after a lecture on Parkinson’s disease and asked the speaker, “Why do people with Parkinson’s smell like that?”
The scientist, Dr. Tilo Kunath, was confused. He had never heard that Parkinson’s had a smell. But Joy was confident. She said she could smell it, and she had smelled it before anyone diagnosed her husband.
Joy Milne’s Special Sense of Smell
Joy Milne has a condition called hyperosmia, which means she has a super-strong sense of smell. Ten years before he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, she noticed her husband Les smelled different. At first, she thought it was just his cologne or body odor, but the scent never went away.
Years later, when they joined a support group, Joy noticed everyone with Parkinson’s had that same smell. That’s when she knew something bigger was going on.
Putting Her Sense to the Test
Dr. Kunath was curious. He gathered T-shirts from ten people—five with Parkinson’s and five without. Joy had to smell each shirt and decide who had the disease.
She got all five Parkinson’s cases right. She only made one “mistake,” but that person was diagnosed two years later. Joy didn’t get it wrong. She smelled Parkinson’s before doctors could see it.
How Joy Milne Helped Change Science
After that test, scientists began to take Joy seriously. They found that people with Parkinson’s release a unique scent from their skin. The smell comes from sebum—an oily substance in our hair and skin glands. In Parkinson’s patients, the chemicals in sebum change in a way that Joy could detect.
Now, researchers are creating swab tests based on Joy’s nose. These tests may help detect Parkinson’s years earlier than current methods.
Can She Smell Other Diseases Too?
Joy Milne, who worked as a nurse, says she believes she can also smell other diseases. She claims to smell signs of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and even depression. Scientists are now researching her claims to see if other illnesses have scent signatures too.
A New Way to Detect Disease
Thanks to Joy Milne and Parkinson’s research, doctors may one day use smell to diagnose diseases early. Her story reminds us that even the smallest clues, like scent, can lead to big breakthroughs.
Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning and laughing a lot while you do, you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!
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