Babies smell divine. Teenagers, not so much.

An international research team involving researchers from the University of Wrocław received an Ig Nobel Prize for research into why babies smell better than teenagers. 

A research team comprising Prof. Ilona Croy from the University of Jena, Prof. Thomas Hummel from the TU Dresden, and Dr Tomasz Frąckowiak and Prof. Dr hab. Agnieszka Sorokowska from the Faculty of Psychology, University of Wrocław, received Ig Nobel Prize. They have been studying smell for years. 

Their collaboration resulted in the publication “Babies Smell Wonderful to Their Parents, Teenagers Do Not: an Exploratory Questionnaire Study on Children's Age and Personal Odor Ratings in a Polish Sample”. They studied whether parents perceived the odour of their children as pleasant or unpleasant. Their research included a questionnaire study, assessment of odour samples by parents and non-parents, as well as genetic and fMRI-based analyses. 

The research findings are clear-cut. Infant odours were rated as very pleasant, whereas the odours of teenagers, not as pleasant, and sometimes even difficult for their parents to tolerate. The divine scent of babies can then be considered as one of the “cute” features (Kindchenscheme), which increase parents’ motivation and promote caregiving behaviour.

The award-winning research shows that scent plays an important role not only in social relationships but also in underlying biological mechanisms. 

The National Science Centre has supported Prof. Sorokowska’s research for years, in the form of ETIUDA, PRELUDIUM, and two OPUS and SONATA grants. Prof. Sorokowska is currently working on a SONATA BIS grant on psychological effects of parenthood among couples. 

Ig Nobel

The Ig Nobel Prize is a humorous counterpart to the Nobel Prize, aimed at highlighting unusual aspects of scientific work and promoting science. The awards are given to research that may seem amusing at first glance, but above all encourages deeper reflection. Importantly, all awarded studies have genuine scientific value and are published in peer-reviewed, prestigious journals. This year, Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded, among others, to researchers for their studies on aerodynamics of the nose blowing, an attempt to make the definition of kissing, and on turning mosquito proboscises into 3D printing nozzles. 

The Ig Nobel Prize has been awarded since 1991 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. This year, for the first time, the award ceremony was moved to Europe, namely to Switzerland. Ig Nobel ceremony events are always unique, and the winners receive a custom trophy, this time in the shape of a human foot covered in mushrooms.

Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony 2026