The sweet smell of eternity

In this undated photo provided by Emma Paolin, a view of a selection of the mummified bodies in the exhibition area of the Egyptian museum in Cairo. (Emma Paolin via AP)

AT first whiff, it sounds repulsive: sniffing the essence of an ancient corpse.

But researchers who indulged their curiosity in the name of science found that well-preserved Egyptian mummies actually smell pretty good.