Larry Meiller learns what creatures have lived on, and in, our bodies over the past millenia, and why our bodies may be suffering because of losing them. [Originally broadcast on April 9, 2014]
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Meet Mysterious Biological Process Behind Body Odor
Body odor is more than a signal that someone’s hygiene is less than stellar, according to a North Carolina-based biologist. It’s also a signal that millions of bacteria have just eaten a meal courtesy of the human body.
“(Body odor) is actually the smell that’s produced when the body provides a bunch of food to these bacteria. … It’s really this amazing system we understand very little about,” said Rob Dunn, who is the author of “The Wild Life of Our Bodies.”
The food comes from the apocrine glands, which are found on the bellybutton, armpits and genitalia. According to Dunn, the only function they serve is to feed bacteria that are also found in those regions and that have largely gone unstudied.
Because the bacteria in these areas of people’s body aren’t very well researched, more work is needed in order to understand how the use of antiperspirants and deodorants impact them.
“The way (antiperspirants and deodorants) are working is that they’re killing the bacteria that our body is feeding, and in their place they’re favoring a bunch of other bacteria that we (also) know very little about,” Dunn explained.
For example, scientists have found some bacteria that have adapted to deal with the metals found in common antiperspirants.
“It’s one of these fascinating cases where every day we’re applying a treatment to this layer of life on our skin, and we really don’t understand what it’s doing,” Dunn said.
Episode Credits
- Larry Meiller Host
- Judith Siers-Poisson Producer
- Cynthia Schuster Producer
- Rob Dunn Guest
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