The Briefing Room
General Category => Health/Education => Topic started by: rangerrebew on July 13, 2014, 12:45:44 pm
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Really? July 11
Study: Smelling farts is good for your health
The next time someone at your office lets out a "silent but deadly" emission, maybe you should thank them. A new study at the University of Exeter suggests that exposure to hydrogen sulfide — a.k.a. what your body produces as bacteria breaks down food, causing gas — could prevent mitochondria damage. Yep, the implication is what you're thinking: People are taking the research to mean that smelling farts could prevent disease and even cancer.
The study, published in the Medicinal Chemistry Communications journal, found that hydrogen sulfide gas in rotten eggs and flatulence could be a key factor in treating diseases.
"Although hydrogen sulfide gas is well known as a pungent, foul-smelling gas in rotten eggs and flatulence, it is naturally produced in the body and could in fact be a healthcare hero with significant implications for future therapies for a variety of diseases," Dr. Mark Wood, a professor at the University of Exeter, said in a statement.
While hydrogen sulfide gas is harmful in large doses, the study suggests that "a whiff here and there has the power to reduce risks of cancer, strokes, heart attacks, arthritis, and dementia by preserving mitochondria," Time reports. Dr. Matt Whiteman, a University of Exeter professor who worked on the study, said in a statement that researchers are even replicating the natural gas in a new compound, AP39, to reap its health benefits.
- - Meghan DeMaria
http://theweek.com/speedreads/index/264585/speedreads-study-smelling-farts-is-good-for-your-health
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Sorry, but I'm still going to sleep with the windows open.
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Sorry, but I'm still going to sleep with the windows open.
You smelt it, you dealt it.
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You just know this all stared on a 3x5 card on a bulletin board in the University Science department admin office:
WANTED
Freshmen volunteers with Chemistry, Biology, or Science majors needed for a fully credited six week important scientific research program.
• A perfect opportunity to get your nose into important scientific research.
• The director of this research Dr. Matt Whiteman promises the program will be very rewarding, quoting the doctor, “it will be a real gas”.
• The sweet smell of success is only a phone call away.
• As a bonus to all volunteers, a free Chile lunch will be served each day.
• Hurry, because space is limited, and you don’t want to pass this opportunity, and flush the credits you could earn down the toilet.
Call now. Dr. Matt Whiteman 555-555-1234
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So, cow farts might be good for us?
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So, cow farts might be good for us?
Probably not. Those farts are mostly methane. This study says sulfides (what causes the stink) are required for the health benefits.