Episode Details

Have you ever wondered what your unique body odour says about you? Turns out, quite a lot! From your health to your genetics, we can learn a lot from taking a whiff of your odour. Your scent is a complex mix of information, and we humans are pretty good at reading it. So, what secrets are revealed from our scent, and why do we mostly choose to ignore them?

您是否想知道您独特的体味代表着您的什么？ 事实证明，相当多！ 从你的健康状况到你的基因，我们可以通过闻一闻你的气味了解很多信息。 你的气味是一种复杂的信息组合，而我们人类非常善于解读它。 那么，我们的气味揭示了哪些秘密，为什么我们大多选择忽视它们呢？

Researchers believe scent production is mostly determined by our genes. In a study published in Chem Senses by Craig Roberts and colleagues, participants had to match T-shirts that smelt the same after sniffing them. They matched the T-shirts of identical twins, meaning their scent was very similar, and those sniffing had quite an accurate sense of smell. Agnieszka Sorokowska, an expert in human olfaction, says this means "we might be able to detect genetic information about other people by smelling them."

研究人员认为，气味的产生主要是由我们的基因决定的。 克雷格·罗伯茨 (Craig Roberts) 及其同事在《Chem Senses》上发表的一项研究中，参与者必须将闻过气味相同的 T 恤进行匹配。 他们的T恤是同卵双胞胎的，这意味着他们的气味非常相似，而且嗅觉的嗅觉也相当准确。 人类嗅觉专家阿格涅斯卡·索罗科斯卡（Agnieszka Sorokowska）表示，这意味着“我们或许能够通过闻其他人的气味来检测他们的遗传信息。”

But it's not all about your genes. In another twin study called 'The Discrimination of Human Odour by the Dog', a dog could distinguish the odour of identical twins living apart. So, your environment can change how you smell, but it might take a dog’s sensitive nose to detect it. Even your health can change how you smell. In a study called 'The Scent of Disease', the BO of someone with diabetes was associated with rotten apples, while those with scurvy had sweat described as 'putrid'. Odour research has also helped to train dogs to detect illnesses such as cancer by scent alone.

但这并不全与你的基因有关。 在另一项名为“狗对人类气味的辨别”的双胞胎研究中，狗可以区分生活在一起的同卵双胞胎的气味。 因此，你的环境可以