On the scent of happiness

SCIENTISTS hope to develop a perfume that evokes the universal scent of happiness.

They believe they can come up with a fragrance that puts anyone who sniffs it in a better mood.

Researchers at a fragrance company in Kent are investigating the brainwaves of volunteers from Europe and Japan to discover the distinctive smell that makes all people feel cheerful.

They have created a method of identifying scents that provoke the same response in everyone who smells them, reports New Scientist.