Sweet perfume or stinky smell?

September 28, 2007

If you have wondered why male urine sometimes smells like vanilla, then US scientists have an explanation.

The team at Rockefeller and Duke universities have found a gene that can make male urine seem to smell like vanilla, urine or nothing at all. The study asked 400 participants to rate 66 odours at two different concentrations for pleasantness. Different genetic variations of a smell receptor make androstenone, which is found in higher concentrations in the urine and sweat of men than women, smell foul or pleasant - like vanilla in some cases.

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