Other studies have concluded that people give off different body odors that correspond to certain emotional situations, but what hasn't been shown is whether other people become a little stressed after smelling the body odor from stressed people, Wysocki said.
Pheromones have been popularized as a factor in sexual desire -- namely, that certain odors that people give off attract potential mates -- but their role in humans is still controversial.
Pump the subway station full of molecules that switch off the receptors that pick up nasty odors, and you can, in effect, neutralize an assault on your nose.