A team of engineers from the University of Minho in Portugal have developed two ways to modify cotton fabric so that it lets off a citronella aroma when it comes in contact with sweat. Their methods for using sweat against itself are outlined in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
The scientists used a protein found in pigs' noses (yes, hog snouts could be the key to sweet-smelling sweat) that binds to scent molecules. They also attached what's known as a carbohydrate-binding module, which binds to cotton. They used a second method involving fat-like liposomes rather than proteins to bind the pleasant scent to the fabric.
The tweaked cottons released the citronella scent when they came in contact with an acidic sweat solution. The pig nose protein-treated fabric emitted a "quick burst of scent," while the liposomes cleared the air with a slower, more controlled release.
[...] As a bonus, citronella is also a popular insect repellent. Keeping both the mosquitoes and bad body odor away could soon be as simple as reeling off 50 quick jumping jacks.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday August 01 2019, @02:14PM (2 children)
Clothes made out of this would have had me wearing nothing else during Oklahoma summers. Tennessee doesn't seem to have much of a mosquito issue for some reason, despite having a lot more water around.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 01 2019, @04:41PM
Mosquitoes don't attack their own.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 01 2019, @09:33PM
I really doubt it. It's the treatment, not the cloth. Which means the effect will disappear at the first wash.
Better wait until they geneng an artificial living membrane that produces citronella smell continuously. True, you'll need to allow it to plug somewhere in your body to feed itself, but you'll end eating for two while smelling nice.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 01 2019, @02:44PM (1 child)
How long until all the scent molecules are released? Can you "refill" them, or will that fabric simply lose its properties when that happens?
Also, how well do those molecules survive the washing machine?
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Thursday August 01 2019, @06:10PM
Haven't you heard? We're all supposed to be unquestioning throwaway consumerists now. Now run along like a good little consumerist drone and throw away all your clothes and buy new ones because they went out of fashion after two months anyway.
error count exceeds 100; stopping compilation
(Score: 4, Interesting) by AthanasiusKircher on Thursday August 01 2019, @02:49PM (6 children)
As far as I can tell from the very basic description here, the new odors aren't actually making the sweat odors disappear, right? They're just adding other odors to "cover it up."
I'm reminded of some comedian (I don't remember who) making a joke years ago about bathroom air "fresheners." The joke was something about the advertised scents and how no one is actually going to believe, "Oh, Jim, you must have been arranging flowers in here!" just because you sprayed around a "floral" scent. Since hearing that joke, I did some research about odor and realized it's usually about distraction. And the easiest way for a bathroom is often to just light a match and make it go out. Our bodies are on the alert for fire, so even a tiny amount of smoke is a significant distraction from other more foul odor. A ton of matches is a lot cheaper than bathroom spray.
Anyhow, until I see this stuff's effectiveness, my guess is that no one picking up your old dirty gym shorts is going to be smiling at the pleasant odor -- no more than you'd eagerly seek out a used bathroom for the "floral" odor. And is this that more effective than the Italian guys I always saw sweating like crazy on the public buses in Rome who had obviously drenched themselves in cologne, which was "released" more as they got hotter, thereby making the cologne more volatile?
The mosquito repelling angle seems more intriguing to me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 01 2019, @02:57PM
How about a floral scented bathroom candle?
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Thursday August 01 2019, @04:21PM (4 children)
I was at a hardware store a couple weeks ago, looking at citronella products. I saw an "Off!" brand citronella product (candle, I think), and in the fine print it said something along the lines of "Not intended to repel mosquitoes".
Want to repel mosquitoes? Don’t use citronella candles [sciencemag.org]
I ended up getting this thing [amazon.com] instead. It uses allethrin [wikipedia.org] as the active ingredient and butane to heat it and spread it around. It seemed to work but I've only used it once so far.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Thursday August 01 2019, @04:56PM (3 children)
Also, who enjoys citronella? At best it is a "necessary to avoid mosquitos". Now that I am learning that it isn't all that effective, it makes me hate it even more.
Its more like "citronella reminds me of camping and outdoors therefore I enjoy it". If they had any effect, it was counteracted by the light from the candle attracting more insects.
The smoke from my charcoal grill is more effective than those stupid candles. (it does attract hungry humans, however)
Also I would like to point out the graphic in that sciencemag article has a caption of "human bait", which i find amusing.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday August 01 2019, @05:03PM (2 children)
I don't mind the smell, particularly of (what I thought was) the live "citronella" plant [wikipedia.org].
But:
https://www.gardenmyths.com/citronella-plant-keeps-mosquitoes-away/ [gardenmyths.com]
Screw it all. I want a future version of that mosquito-killing laser system [wikipedia.org].
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Thursday August 01 2019, @06:54PM
Regardless of effectiveness and scent, I would prefer the laser defense from a coolness factor.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 01 2019, @09:52PM
Wait until the mosquitos develop resistance against it! (grin)
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Informative) by Hartree on Thursday August 01 2019, @03:54PM (1 child)
There are a subset of people who find some of the scents used in air fresheners completely overpowering and offputting. I dislike going into the cleaning product aisle at the store as the smells are so strong. One of the common ingredients used in some of those has a much bigger impact on me than most. It's still at the point of being overpowering when most people can barely smell it.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 01 2019, @07:21PM
I'm right there with you friend!
Whenever my dad put on cologne to take my mom out on a date, I had to go to the backyard to breathe.
Can't stand the cleaning products aisle of any stores.
Most deodorants give me a nasty rash if I use them too many days in a row (three or four, usually).
Drinking a glass of wine isn't nice or fruity, it's more like trying to down a goblet of gasoline.
Citronella -- It is beyond me how anyone can tolerate that fowl odor, much less enjoy it.
On the plus side, I can usually recreate any restaurant's recipes. A few whiffs an a taste and I know all the ingredients and have a pretty good idea of the ratios.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 01 2019, @03:54PM (1 child)
What if I enjoy the scent of a woman's sweat and fear? Would the fabric enhance or mask this?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 02 2019, @12:39AM
It's Redjac! Beam him into space at maximum dispersion.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 01 2019, @08:03PM
The more you fart!
(Score: 2) by legont on Thursday August 01 2019, @08:29PM
This can't be kosher.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.