Device could have serious applications for tracking a range of health issues, including irritable bowel syndrome and food intolerance

Scientists have developed a first-of-its-kind smart underwear to track how often people actually fart, an advance that could lead to new insights into human metabolism.

Until now, tracking human farts in studies has mainly relied on participants’ self-reporting their flatulence, which has been unreliable as people tend to forget, miscount, or don’t consider tiny gas releases.