Scientists paid people to sniff trunps to find if men’s or women’s smelled worse | Science | News

In a rather unusual experiment, judges were once asked to sniff other people’s flatulence to determine whether men’s or women’s smelled worse, according to the New York Post.

Humans are known to pass wind up to 23 times a day on average, but not all farts are created equal.

The study involved 16 healthy adults who consumed pinto beans and laxatives, with their gas collected and analysed using a ‘flatus collection system’.

The collected gas was then scrutinised using a chromatographic mass spectrometer and subjected to an old-fashioned sniff test.

Judges, unaware of what they were smelling, rated the odour on a scale from 0 to 8, with 8 being ‘very offensive’.

The primary culprits behind the smell were found to be sulfur-containing compounds, particularly hydrogen sulfide – the chemical responsible for the infamous ‘rotten egg’ smell.

While men were found to produce larger volumes of gas, women’s flatulence contained a ‘significantly higher concentration’ of hydrogen sulfide, resulting in a ‘greater intensity’ of smell.

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This research, conducted by gastroenterologist Dr Michael Levitt in the late 1990s, had serious implications beyond the humorous premise.

Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is not just a source of foul smell; it also serves as a signalling molecule in small amounts within the body, with levels observed to decrease with age and even more so in individuals with Alzheimer’s.

In 2021, scientists at Johns Hopkins tested an H2S-releasing compound in mice engineered to develop Alzheimer’s-like changes, reports the Mirror.

Over a 12-week period, mice that received the medication outperformed those that did not in memory and movement tasks.

What really drives the smell?

• Diet: Eggs, brassicas (broccoli, cabbage), onions, garlic, and high-protein meals can boost sulphur compounds.
• Gut microbiome: Your personal mix of gut bacteria helps decide what gases get produced.
• Health and habits: Lactose intolerance, constipation, certain medicines and supplements (like sulphur-containing amino acids) can all turn up the pong.

In separate research focusing on social attitudes, it was found that men were least concerned if others detected their flatulence, while women were significantly more self-conscious.