Why do ancient mummies smell like warm bread? 🍞 Nobel Prize–winning scientist Svante Pääbo shares that the scent comes from the Maillard reaction. This is the same chemical reaction responsible for the browning of bread, seared meat, and roasted coffee. In mummified tissues, sugars and proteins slowly react over centuries, producing new compounds that darken the skin and release those familiar toasty aromas. It's chemistry at work on a biological timescale. Scientists can sometimes smell it whe