The Coffin Cure by Alan Edward Nourse

Dr. Chauncey Patrick Coffin's sensational "cure" for the common cold promises a medical miracle—and unleashes a catastrophe no one anticipated. As Coffin grabs the glory with a premature announcement, his younger colleagues Phillip Dawson and Jacob Miles race to keep up with the science, the ethics, and the exploding public demand for a vaccine that seems destined to end one of humanity's oldest miseries. Instead, the treatment strips away a hidden viral suppression that had been masking human smell for ages. Suddenly, coffee, bacon, smoke, perfume, and every ordinary odor become overwhelming, nauseating, and impossible to escape. As the affliction spreads, Phillip, Coffin, and Jake scramble through desperate experiments on themselves, students, monkeys, and even a sneezing puppy, trying to catch colds, reverse the damage, and find a way to trigger the body's defenses in a safer direction. Part comic science fiction, part cautionary tale, this fast-moving story turns a triumph of research into a battle against unintended consequences, public panic, and the stubborn unpredictability of human beings. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.