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The pandemic has thrust a relatively unknown ailment, anosmia — or smell loss — into the international spotlight. 

Why it matters: Researchers hope smell testing becomes as standard as the annual flu shot, helping to detect early signs of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

"Loss of smell is associated with so many different health conditions," olfactory researcher Pamela Dalton told Axios. "It’s something we should be checking."

The big picture: Severe or complete smell loss — which impacts roughly 3% of the 40+ U.S. population — has devastating effects, making sufferers feel ostracized, isolated in social settings, and unable to fully taste or enjoy food. 

There are few tools to diagnose and treat it.

Now a growing group of people who haven't recovered their sense of smell months after having COVID are joining these ranks.

Studies suggest that a majority of people who get COVID-19 experience smell loss. For most of them, it's temporary. But at least 5% seem to have long-term loss.

This has public health and safety implications ranging from depression to not being able to sense danger like fire. 

What’s next: Innovation in the smell space could make smell testing more accessible, identify treatments and improve quality of life for a significant part of the population. 

While smell testing currently exists, it's not widely used and can be expensive, employing dozens of odors, Dalton, who works at Monell Chemical Senses Center, told Axios. 

The Center, based in Philadelphia, received an NIH grant at the end of last year to research the effectiveness of a "lift and sniff" test that has just one odor and could be used to rapidly detect COVID.

Another study is looking into at-home scratch-and-sniff tests.

Yes, but: There are concerns about the limitations of diagnostic smell tests, as the New York Times has reported.

What's next: Cyrano Therapeutics, a Washington, D.C.-based medicine company, is researching a nasal spray for anosmia, with randomized trials set to start next year.

Clinical trials by Washington University School of Medicine aim to test multiple therapies for COVID-related smell loss: a nasal rinse and a specific type of smell training (regularly inhaling certain scents) that incorporates visuals and "patient-preferred scents" rather than pre-determined odors.

COVID-19 drives smell loss awareness, research

Researchers hope smell testing becomes as standard as the annual flu shot.

A health worker carries out an olfactory test to monitor smell loss.

A health worker carries out an olfactory test outside Buenos Aires. Photo: Alejandro Pagni/AFP via Getty Images

Coronavirus

Health

Home cooks who can't smell have an influx of new recipes to choose from as COVID-related anosmia spurs innovation in the kitchen.

Recipes focus on foods with bright colors, contrasting textures and geometric shapes, drawing on senses besides smell and taste to help anosmics enjoy eating.

Why it matters: For people with smell loss or distorted smell and taste (parosmia) — common COVID-related symptoms — coffee is simply hot water, popcorn is "thorny foam," or food smells like literal garbage.

The big picture: At least one cookbook aimed at those with compromised senses has already come out. Another — a book deal that came together pre-pandemic — is in the works, smell researcher and one of the authors Robert Pellegrino told Axios.

To get an idea of the types of dishes that could be in the book, think: hot rice with cold chicken, onigiri, juicy omelettes.

"You want it to be arousing," says Pellegrino, a postdoctoral fellow at Monell Chemical Senses Center. 

Between the lines: There’s evidence that people desperate to regain the pleasures of eating are already experimenting with these methods.

New York Times restaurant critic Tejal Rao, who lost her sense of smell due to COVID-19, wrote for the New York Times Magazine about rediscovering her appetite thanks to mala — a combination of chiles and Sichuan peppercorns that creates a buzzing sensation in the mouth. She published an accompanying recipe for spicy and tingly beef.

Others have reported dousing their food in mustard and hot sauce, per Eater.

A Dutch cookbook author who's had anosmia nearly her whole life suggested this recipe in CNN last year: a veggie burger heavy on spices and the crunch of peanuts.

The bottom line: "You don’t know how important sense of smell is until you lose it," Pellegrino said. "It completely takes away the pleasure of eating and socializing at the dinner table."

COVID-19 smell loss leads to culinary experimentation

Cookbooks for anosmics would would emphasize texture and sensations.

Illustration of a silver tray cover opening to reveal a petri dish with a cheeseburger inside

COVID-19

Home cooks who can&#x27;t smell have an influx of new recipes to choose from as COVID-related anosmia spurs innovation in the kitchen.<ul><li>Recipes focus on foods with bright colors, contrasting textures and geometric shapes, drawing on senses besides smell and taste to help anosmics enjoy eating.</li></ul>Why it matters: For people with smell loss or distorted smell and taste (parosmia) — common COVID-related symptoms — coffee is simply <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="hot water" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cpr.org/2021/02/13/coronavirus-stole-chef-bonannos-taste-and-smell-science-is-working-on-why/?mc_cid=33bbd29f9b&amp;mc_eid=d3d7ded137" data-vars-content-id="6cae8dad-4f42-44b8-bdef-22c37a4465de" data-vars-headline="COVID-19 smell loss leads to culinary experimentation" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cpr.org/2021/02/13/coronavirus-stole-chef-bonannos-taste-and-smell-science-is-working-on-why/?mc_cid=33bbd29f9b&amp;mc_eid=d3d7ded137" target="_blank">hot water</a>, popcorn is &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="thorny foam" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/magazine/mala-sicuhuan-peppercorn-recipe.html" data-vars-content-id="6cae8dad-4f42-44b8-bdef-22c37a4465de" data-vars-headline="COVID-19 smell loss leads to culinary experimentation" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/magazine/mala-sicuhuan-peppercorn-recipe.html" target="_blank">thorny foam</a>,&quot; or food smells like literal garbage.

The days leading up to and including Inauguration Day typically generate $31.4 million in additional sales for D.C. businesses — but not this year. 

Why it matters: Washington's economy is already suffering from pandemic-induced closures, and could very much use the revelry and tourist dollars that Inauguration Day brings — instead of the large bills that will pile up if there's further mayhem or if visitors continue to stay away.

The Old Ebbitt Grill, which sits along the inaugural parade route, normally sees a “financial windfall” from renting out the restaurant for a private party and welcoming post-inaugural ball guests, David Moran, director of operations for Clyde’s Restaurant Group, tells Axios.

This year it will be closed on Inauguration Day for what’s believed to be the first time.

A plan to continue with takeout and delivery quickly became impossible due to security fencing and barricades cutting off access to the restaurant.

Sister restaurant The Hamilton also shut down last week, representing a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars between the two.

What they’re saying: “I am pretty used to, every four years, doing interviews,” Moran said. “Not this kind of story."

"It’s usually about how busy we are and how ... the Ebbitt is part of the culture of the inauguration — and here we are now talking about the exact opposite.”

“The closest thing we’ve seen to something like this is 9/11.” 

Of note: Sunnyside Restaurant Group temporarily closed two of its Capitol Hill restaurants — Good Stuff Eatery and Santa Rosa Taqueria — last month because they were losing money. 

During President Trump’s inauguration, Sunnyside's restaurants saw 800-1,200 customers a day; this week that number is around 120. 

One Sunnyside restaurant — We, The Pizza — remains open, but is doing 55% of the business it did pre-COVID, deputy Sunnyside CEO Micheline Mendelsohn tells Axios.

Plus: While hotel occupancy was at 95.2% during the last inauguration, Destination D.C. expects lower rates this year.

But, but, but: Some hotels are still busy.

The Willard InterContinental, blocks from the White House, is nearly 90% occupied, largely due to bookings from military and law enforcement agencies.

Even, so, “businesses all throughout the city, including our own, are not expecting to generate the same revenue as years past,” said Janet Scanlon, senior marketing manager for the Willard.

D.C. braces for economic hit from scaled-back inauguration

It's going to miss the revelry and tourist dollars that Inauguration Day usually brings.

A DC business boarded up days before inauguration.

Photo: Aurora Samperio/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Business

Economy

The days leading up to and including Inauguration Day typically generate <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="$31.4 million" data-vars-click-url="https://cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ocfo/publication/attachments/Special%20Events%20and%20DC%20Sales%20Tax%20Revenue.pdf" data-vars-content-id="ad9d9595-c6a5-4093-bca2-2493f11fd9fb" data-vars-headline="D.C. braces for economic hit from scaled-back inauguration" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ocfo/publication/attachments/Special%20Events%20and%20DC%20Sales%20Tax%20Revenue.pdf" target="_blank">$31.4 million</a> in additional sales for D.C. businesses — but not this year. Why it matters: Washington&#x27;s economy is already suffering from pandemic-induced closures, and could very much use the revelry and tourist dollars that Inauguration Day brings — instead of the large bills that will pile up if there&#x27;s further mayhem or if visitors continue to stay away.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

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Axios Generate

One of the worst heat waves on record to hit the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia is underway, with temperatures soaring into the triple digits Saturday before reaching unprecedented levels Sunday and Monday.

Why it matters: Extreme heat events are dangerous to public health, with heat ranking as the nation's top weather-related killer annually. In addition, extreme heat events such as this one are a clear manifestation of human-caused climate change.

This heat wave is a prolonged event with little overnight relief, and is affecting cities where relatively few people have air conditioning, such as Seattle.

Driving the news: A highly unusual weather pattern is in place over the Pacific Northwest, with a record-strong high-pressure area aloft — known as a "heat dome" — parked over the region and intensifying through Monday. 

This heat dome is yielding temperature departures from average of between 25°F to 45°F across multiple states and British Columbia. 

This heat, combined with a worsening drought, is raising the risk of wildfires across multiple Western states.

It will also cause power demand to spike at a time when hydropower resources are lower than usual due to drought conditions.

What's happening: Via Axios' Hadley Malcolm in Bend, Ore., who drove from Portland Saturday morning: There was a 20-25 minute wait to fill up at the Fred Meyer gas station on Beaverton Hillsdale Highway around 9:20 a.m. local time. Five lanes at least four cars deep — plus more waiting to turn into the station.

At least one car’s trunk was full of coolers, on its way somewhere, anywhere, that promised a respite from the heat.

By 11 a.m., boaters, kayakers and jet skiers were out in full force on Detroit Lake, visible from the car as we drove on Highway 22. Multiple groups of boats were tied up together, with people floating in tubes or just flat mats.

During a brief stop in Sisters around noon, there was a steady line at the Sno Cap, where people were ordering bowls of ice cream as big as their hand.

As we came through downtown Bend, the Deschutes River was packed with people floating on inner tubes.

By the numbers: Virtually all of Oregon and Washington, plus portions of California, Idaho, Montana and Nevada, are under excessive heat watches and warnings. 

Portland, Ore., set an all-time high temperature record of 108°F on Saturday, beating the previous record of 107°F. The city is forecast to reach 112°F on Sunday and Monday. (Typically, all-time heat records are only broken by a fraction of a degree.)

In Seattle, the temperature reached 101°F on Saturday afternoon, which set a record for the hottest June day, and was only the fourth 100-degree day in the city's history. Seattle has a forecast high of 104°F on Sunday with an overnight low close to 80°F. The city is expected to reach 109°F on Monday.

Seattle's all-time high temperature record is 103°F, and the majority of city residents lack air conditioning.

The heat will be most intense in inland areas of Washington and Oregon. There, temperatures are forecast to soar to between 100°F and 115°F through Tuesday.

Canada is also seeing extreme heat, with the country's June high temperature record tied Saturday. It's possible the country's all-time high temperature record of 113°F (45°C) will be equaled or eclipsed during this event.

How it works: One of the reasons the Pacific Northwest is so hot is tied to where the center of the heat dome is. The feature is parked to the north-northeast of the region for several days, drifting slowly eastward with time.

Due to the clockwise flow of air around the high, this will produce surges of air moving from high-to-lower elevation areas in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

When air sinks, such as when it moves out of mountainous regions and into valleys, it compresses, increasing temperatures and getting drier in the process.

Context: Studies have shown that severe heat events such as this one are now on average about 3°F to 5°F hotter than they would without the many decades of emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel burning, deforestation and other human activities.

However, this may understate climate change's influence, since warming may also be altering weather patterns in a way that makes strong heat domes more common and prolonged.

Some recent studies using techniques known as extreme event attribution have shown that certain extreme heat events could not have occurred without the added boost from human-caused warming.

What they're saying: National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters in Seattle said Friday they “have never seen Pacific Northwest data like this.” A weather balloon launched Friday afternoon found the freezing level in the atmosphere was at 18,000 feet high. 

Such observations have prompted the NWS and Environment Canada to warn of high levels of glacial melt runoff and snowmelt in higher elevations, including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Wash. 

"In short, heat of this magnitude has very rarely (if ever) been felt throughout this region, especially this early into the summer season," the NWS' Weather Prediction Center wrote Saturday. 

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include new heat records.

Pacific Northwest heat dome roasts more than 25M

Seattle and Portland, among other locations, are likely to see all-time high temperature records broken.

Computer model projection of temperature departures from average on June 28, 2021.

Computer model projection of temperature departures from average (degrees Celsius) on June 28. Image: Tropicaltidbits.com

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Climate change

Extreme weather

One of the worst heat waves on record to hit the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia is underway, with temperatures soaring into the triple digits Saturday before reaching unprecedented levels Sunday and Monday.Why it matters: Extreme heat events are dangerous to public health, with heat ranking as the nation&#x27;s top weather-related killer annually. In addition, extreme heat events such as this one are a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="clear manifestation of human-caused climate change" data-vars-click-url="https://crd.lbl.gov/assets/Uploads/CONUS-2021-heat-wave-attribution-statement1.pdf" data-vars-content-id="bd910518-97ab-4834-85cd-c2941a99827e" data-vars-headline="Pacific Northwest heat dome roasts more than 25M" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://crd.lbl.gov/assets/Uploads/CONUS-2021-heat-wave-attribution-statement1.pdf" target="_blank">clear manifestation of human-caused climate change</a>.

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

A look at the scientific breakthroughs changing the world, explorations in space and in worlds beyond our own and the threats posed to us by our own planet, both out of our control and of our own making.

Hadley Malcolm

Stories

Pacific Northwest heat dome roasts more than 25M

COVID-19 smell loss leads to culinary experimentation

COVID-19 drives smell loss awareness, research

D.C. braces for economic hit from scaled-back inauguration