Scientists have unravelled the mysterious mechanism behind the armpit’s ability to produce the pungent smell of body odour.
Researchers at the University of York traced the source of underarm odour to a particular enzyme in a certain microbe that lives in the human armpit.
To prove the enzyme was the chemical culprit, the scientists transferred it to an innocent member of the underarm microbe community and noted – to their delight – that it too began to emanate bad smells.
The work paves the way for more effective deodorants and antiperspirants, the scientists believe, and suggests that humans may have inherited the mephitic microbes from our ancient primate ancestors.