Want to live? Smell farts.

[xoxoxoBruce]

What the hell does that mean??

Rotten egg gas holds key to healthcare therapies
It may smell of flatulence and have a reputation for being highly toxic, but when used in the right tiny dosage, hydrogen sulfide is now being found to offer potential health benefits in a range of issues, from diabetes to stroke, heart attacks and dementia.

A new compound (AP39), designed and made at the University of Exeter, could hold the key to future therapies, by targeting delivery of very small amounts of the substance to the right (or key) places inside cells.

Scientists in Exeter have already found that the compound protects mitochondria – the “powerhouse” of cells, which drive energy production in blood vessel cells. Preventing or reversing mitochondrial damage is a key strategy for treatments of a variety of conditions such as stroke, heart failure, diabetes and arthritis, dementia and ageing. Mitochondria determine whether cells live or die and they regulate inflammation. In the clinic, dysfunctional mitochondria are strongly linked to disease severity.

Hmm... date check... nope, not April 1st.
Link check... nope, not Onion.
Third world check... nope, England.


But they might kill you.

[elSicomoro]

Actually, I just learned something. I always thought farts were composed mostly of methane...but from Wikipedia:

The remaining trace (<1% volume) compounds give flatus its smell. Historically, compounds such as indole, skatole, ammonia and short chain fatty acids were thought to cause the smell of flatus. More recent evidence proves that the major contribution to the smell of flatus comes from a combination of volatile sulphur compounds (VSC).[5][12] It is known that hydrogen sulphide (H2S), methyl mercaptan, MM (also known as methanethiol, MT), dimethyl sulphide (DMS), dimethyl disulphide (DMDS) and dimethyl trisulphide (DMTS) are present in flatus. The benzopyrrole volatiles indole and skatole actually have a mothball type smell, and therefore probably do not contribute greatly to the characteristic smell of flatus.

Then there is this (starting at about 1:50):

[Gravdigr]

That's about "the courtesy smell", ain't it? I don't even need to hear it.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

That's about "the courtesy smell", ain't it? I don't even need to hear it.

ka-CHING!

[Lola Bunny]

I showed my sister the article. She made a face and said, "It's not true. I get sicker from all the methane poisoning." :p

[elSicomoro]

[Aliantha]

So maybe indigenous people and their hot mud pools (think rotarua NZ) have been onto something long before science caught up.

[Nirvana]

These guys must be fart smellers errrr smart fellers