Genetics and Funny-Smelling Pee

Okay... as Krystle has shown in her blog, thinking about genetics can be fun. We found out how fun it could be last night:

The baby's aunts and uncle came over for dinner (Emmy, Jessie, and Rick(ie?)...) I made them my new-found recipe, along with sides of sauteed asparagus and zucchini. After eating - and a few rounds of drinks (yes... although the margaritas Emily made were virgin, Jessica and Emily seemed pretty tipsy by the end of the evening) - we began to discuss the effects of asparagus. All three seemed pretty unaware of the effects and whether or not they were victims of the Eau D'Asparagus.

According to WebMD:

Asparagus contains a sulfur compound called mercaptan. (It's also found in rotten eggs, onions, garlic, and in the secretions of skunks.) When your digestive tract breaks down this substance, by-products are released that cause the funny scent. The process is so quick that your urine can develop the distinctive smell within 15 to 30 minutes of eating asparagus.

But not everyone has this experience. Your genetic makeup may determine whether your urine has the odor -- or whether you can actually smell it. Only some people appear to have the gene for the enzyme that breaks down mercaptan into its more pungent parts. A study published in the May 1989 British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology found that 46% of 115 people tested produced the odor in one group of British citizens, while 100% of 103 people produced it in a group of French citizens. The ability to smell the by-products may also be genetic. Another study published in the same journal found that 10% of a group of 300 Israeli Jews could not detect the odor. In other words, a person's urine could smell, but he or she might not know it.

I have the unfortunate genetic makeup with the which I can produce and smell the Eau D'Asparagus. Jamie can only smell it (...which may be more unfortunate now that I think about it). What does this mean for baby? Probably that, regardless of whether or not her/his pee smells, he/she will be able to smell it. Sad.

As for Rick and Emily's baby, it is doomed. Rick wrote us a text message last night which I didn't read until this morning, and stated:

"It has been confirmed. Emily and I both have the jet fuel smelling pee from the green vegetable."

Poor, poor little Dudley.


Two things I learned while writing this post: (1) All French people have funny smelling pee, and (2) you can google-image almost ANYTHING. The above two pix were found by google-imaging "asparagus urine."