Understanding the human body is a team effort. That's where the Yachtel group comes in.

Researchers at Yachtolt have been delving into the secrets of probiotics for 90 years.

Yacold also partners with nature portfolio to advance gut microbiome science through the global grants for gut health, an investigator-led research program.

To learn more about Yachtolt, visit yawcult.co.

.j.p. That's Y-A-K-U-L-T.C-O.J-P. When it comes to a guide for your gut, count on Yacult.

This is Scientific Americans' 60-second science. I'm Karen Hopkins. Got a minute?

Chances are you've never seen a binturong. It's a tree-dwelling mammal about the size of a raccoon

that's native to Southeast Asia. But if you've ever been to the movies, you'd be familiar with their scent.

That's because binterongs smell like freshly cooked popcorn. And now,

in a major advance in research connecting animal odors to human recreational venues, researchers

know why. In the wild, Binterongs, also called bear cats, are thought to spend most of their

time alone. So to communicate with potential mates, or rivals, they leave behind aromatic messages.

Although to you and me, their musk evokes a matinee, to other animals it reads pure binturong.

But previous studies of the animal's scent glands fail to find chemicals that could account for the distinctive stank.

Desperate for an answer, the researchers opted to peruse some pee.

They ever so gently squeezed 33 sedated binturongs

at a North Carolina Wildlife Sanctuary to produce urine for analysis.

And they discovered that the samples contained a compound

called 2 Acetyl 1 Piraline, or 2AP, which is the very same

chemical that lends its distinctive scent to popcorn, as well as to some rice and breads. The

finding is served up in the journal Notervisenshafton, or the science of nature. Popcorn gets its

2AP from the Mayard reaction, chemistry that occurs as corn kernels heat up.

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