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Science identifies the ancient enzyme in bacteria that makes humans' body odor so pungent:
Researchers have zeroed in on the source of our stink.
The same team that identified the handful of bacteria responsible for human body odor has now gone a step further and pinpointed the enzyme operating within those organisms. It's a cysteine-thiol lyase (C-T lyase) enzyme within bacteria like Staphylococcus hominis that makes the actual smelly molecules, which have inspired an entire industry of deodorants to contain them.
"This is a key advancement in understanding how body odour works, and will enable the development of targeted inhibitors that stop BO production at source without disrupting the armpit microbiome," said University of York researcher Dr. Michelle Rudden, in a release.
[...] "This research was a real eye-opener," said Unilever co-author Dr. Gordon James. "It was fascinating to discover that a key odor-forming enzyme exists in only a select few armpit bacteria and evolved there tens of millions of years ago."
Journal Reference:
Michelle Rudden, Reyme Herman, Matthew Rose, et al. The molecular basis of thioalcohol production in human body odour [open], Scientific Reports (DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68860-z)
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday July 29 2020, @01:44AM (10 children)
Or does it vary somewhat [youtube.com] between humans?
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday July 29 2020, @02:47AM (9 children)
It must vary, because I for one have very little body odor. I can literally go for days without washing and without changing clothes, sweating heavily all day long - which I do on occasion when I do bicycle tours in remote areas - and I don't smell much worse than an average desk clerk after a day's work.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @03:31AM (1 child)
Your girlfriend told me different.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @04:36AM
I wouldn't want to find leftovers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @03:34AM
Try going longer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @04:52AM (3 children)
The continual sweating is why. The stink doesn't come from the surface of the skin, but from bacteria in the pores. The people who really stink rarely sweat, so when they do sweat a bit it flushes all the crap out of their pores. You're flushing them out all the time.
(Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Wednesday July 29 2020, @06:51AM (2 children)
I wish that was the case, but it's not. I've always sweated even while not doing anything, yet I learned long ago that if I don't wash thoroughly in the shower every day and put on good deodorant immediately afterward, I'll start developing smelly armpits within a few hours at best.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 29 2020, @10:23AM
That's not the same as Mr Coltrane was talking about. If you sweated like a long distance bike rider there would be a large pool of sweat under your chair and you'd be drinking pints per hour. What you have would be a continual dampness that actually promotes bacterial growth.
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Thursday July 30 2020, @05:20AM
Try shaving your armpits. It works wonders. P
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
(Score: 2, Insightful) by anubi on Wednesday July 29 2020, @09:15AM (1 child)
Sure you did not go "nose blind"?
You won't smell yourself, as your sense of smell will re-baseline to the new environment. After a while, I even stopped noting the stench of my high school locker room, which was worse than the pig sty on the farm, however my all time award for smelliest thing on earth is that dumpster behind that fancy new fish restaurant.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Wednesday July 29 2020, @02:15PM
That's what other people tell me - that I don't smell. I know you can't trust yourself when it comes to that.