Earwax can reveal sexual orientation

Researchers from the Monell Center (USA) found that the smell of earwax can reveal identity information, even our sexual orientation and health.

Dr. George Preti, the lead organic chemist, said: "Our previous research has shown that armpit odor can transmit a great deal of information about an individual, including identity. personal, gender, sexual orientation and health status We believe that earwax may contain similar information " .

Earwax is a mixture of excreted products from sweat glands that are specific to fats from sebaceous glands. Earwax is divided into two types: one dry, white and one wet, golden brown.

Preti researcher started to focus attention on the ear after discovering that a small change in the ABCC11 gene is related to both the production of armpit odor and whether a person will have dry or wet earwax.

According to researchers, earwax is an untapped source of information, capable of revealing the owner's identity and even sexual orientation.(Photo: Getty Images)

People in East Asia (such as China, South Korea and Japan) as well as the descendants of the American Indians own a type of ABCC11 gene that codes for dry earwax as well as less smell in the armpits than those people of other races.

To see if the earwax smelled typical, Mr. Preti and his colleagues collected earwax of 16 healthy people, 8 who were descendants of Caucasian white race and 8 ethnic people in the East. ASIAN. Each sample is placed in a small jar and heated for 30 minutes to release gas molecules that are volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Many of these VO C compounds have an odor.

Analysis results show that 12 VOC compounds are always present in the earwax of the study subjects. However, the amount of VOC varies with the race of the audience, with Caucasians possessing more than 11 of the 12 VOC compounds more than the East Asians.

The team concludes, basically, we can get information about a person's race simply by examining that person's ears. They suspect, the fat-containing nature of earwax makes it a potential repository for odor-spreading substances, dissolving lipids due to a number of diseases and production environments.

Katharine Prokop-Prigge researcher points out that at least two metabolic diseases produce odors (syrup and alkaptonuria disease) that can be detected at earwax before they are diagnosed with traditional techniques. such as blood tests and urine analysis.

"The smell in the earwax can reveal to us what a person has eaten and where he has been. Earwax is a secretive product of the human body that has been neglected, but has the potential to be one. information sources have not yet been exploited, " Mr. Preti stressed.