'You’ve talked to him more than anybody else has lately'

'We are losing, we're not winning'

If you’ve ever skipped a laundry day and been forced to hit the gym in your backup sports kit, you’ll know that when it comes to stinkiness, not all fabrics are created equal. But exactly why that is has proved elusive – until now.“Although we know that polyester is smellier after being worn next to sweaty armpits compared to cotton T-shirts, we haven’t really known why,” said Rachel McQueen, a clothing and textiles scientist in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences at the University of Alberta and first author of a new paper investigating the phenomenon, in a statement this week.“Now we have a better understanding of how odorants transfer and are selectively absorbed by various fibre types in sweat.”To study the stink, McQueen and her colleagues set out to mimic the effects of exercise on various types of fabric. First, they soaked them in a bottle filled with a solution of simulated sweat, which they shook vigorously for a couple of minutes before setting aside for half an hour. The fabric was then removed from the liquid, dehydrated a bit, and left again to give the odor particles time to percolate. Next, they needed to actually measure how whiffy the fabric had got. Just letting each of the researchers have a sniff and score them out of ten wouldn’t be good enough, so the team turned to a technique called mass spectrometry – a way of measuring the mass-to-charge ratio of ions in a given sample. If that doesn’t mean much to you, don’t worry: you can think of it as a high-tech science-nose, capable of picking out the odorants in the air in real-time.The results showed a clear pattern. Fabrics made from cellulose – that is, natural fibers made from plants, like cotton, linen, or hemp – absorbed and released lower amounts of the smelly odor compounds. Synthetic fibers like polyester, on the other hand, as well as wool, took in more of the stink – and released more too.To understand why this is, we need to look at the constituent ingredients of sweat. Obviously, it’s mostly water, but it also contains oily compounds, McQueen pointed out – in fact, that’s where the odor is formed.And, depending on the particular chemistry of the fibers, these oils can interact differently. “While water-loving cellulosic fibres such as cotton and viscose absorb more of the water from sweat than polyester does, polyester doesn’t want to absorb the water,” McQueen explained. “It’s more oil-loving, and it absorbs more of the odorants, which don’t dissolve in water, and more of the oily compounds, which could also later break down and become smelly.”The smellier fabrics weren’t all bad news, though. For nylon and wool at least, that bigger release of odor particles didn’t actually last that long – sure, they were stinkier than their cotton brethren at first, but after 24 hours the smell had dissipated a lot. “That tells us that while polyester still needs to be washed, for nylon and wool garments, people might be able to freshen them by just airing them out rather than laundering every time,” McQueen pointed out.But while most of the fabrics had at least some redeeming quality, smell-wise, there was one clear loser in the sniff test: polyester.  “Basically, if you’re concerned about smelly clothes, then keep away from polyester,” McQueen said. “Even with some of the anti-odor claims on some clothing labels, you might want to be cautious. If the anti-odor property is due to an antimicrobial, it may not be as effective as you think, because there’s another mechanism in play, which is all about the fibre chemistry and the interaction with odorants.”The paper is published in the Textile Research Journal.

A Bronze and Iron Age burial ground for children that was unearthed in Norway was used for 600 years, and archaeologists aren't sure why.

Saudi Arabia privately hinted earlier this year it might sell some European debt holdings if the Group of Seven decided to seize almost $300 billion of Russia’s frozen assets, people familiar with the matter said. The kingdom’s finance ministry told some G-7 counterparts of its opposition to the idea, which was meant to support Ukraine, with one person describing it as a veiled threat. The Saudis specifically mentioned debt issued by the French treasury, two of the people said.

US President Joe Biden has pledged to provide Ukraine with five new strategic air defence systems to counter relentless Russian attacks, in a forceful speech welcoming Nato leaders to Washington DC. In brief but strongly delivered remarks at the opening of the summit, the president declared the military alliance "more powerful than ever" as it faced a "pivotal moment" in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Mr Biden said the US would partner with Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania...

Just before House Democrats' Tuesday morning "come-to-Jesus" meeting on President Biden's path forward, a smaller group of swing-district Democrats held what sources described as a despondent gathering with "actual tears." Why it matters: The bloc of battleground House Democrats is one of the last firm pockets of a rapidly disintegrating movement on Capitol Hill to get Biden off the ticket. One shell-shocked lawmaker who was present at the meeting would offer only...

While Democrats are soul-searching on whether to support President Biden as the Democratic nominee, House Speaker Mike Johnson and fellow Republican leaders view the president’s tenure as a danger to the country. Polls and some Democrats in Washington have turned against Mr. Biden, something that Mr. Johnson said Republicans should enjoy politically. Yet he’s not enjoying the reality of it, arguing that Mr. Biden’s condition is “dangerous.” Asked again if he...

Including classics by The Beatles and Joni Mitchell. The post Steve Hackett of Genesis names his five favourite albums first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

There is an unsubstantiated claim that non-mRNA covid-19 vaccines are relatively “safe and effective.” However, incidents of sudden deaths among young healthy people vaccinated with China’s covid vaccines suggest otherwise. As well […]