UTMB’s Norbert Herzog and David Niesel describe how a person’s declining sense of smell is a significant forecaster of death in older Americans. The sense of smell is strongly tied to an array of brain functions and is the strongest sense tied to individual memory. Remembered scents can provoke intense memory responses and can stimulate memories from long ago. The sense of smell is also highly connected to other parts of the central nervous system. Unique among the senses, normal olfactory function relies on cellular regeneration of the specialized sensory cells lining the inside of the nose. If the olfactory system is not working properly, these cells won’t regenerate like they are supposed to do.