There is actually a medical school professor that studies flatus. This is your tax dollars in action!

Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2000 Oct;2(5):413-9.
An understanding of excessive intestinal gas.
Suarez FL, Levitt MD.
Source
Minneapolis VA Medical Center (151), 1 Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA.
Abstract
Complaints of "excessive gas" from patients are very common but are difficult, if not impossible, for the physician to document. This review addresses the pathophysiology and management of such complaints, looking at the sources and routes of elimination, excessive eructation, bloating, and distention. In addition, common flatulence problems are summarized
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Am J Gastroenterol. 1998 Nov;93(11):2276-81.
Evaluation of an extremely flatulent patient: case report and proposed diagnostic and therapeutic approach.
Levitt MD, Furne J, Aeolus MR, Suarez FL.
Source
The Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Minnesota 55417, USA.
Abstract
We recently encountered a patient with severe flatulence who previously had been subjected to innumerable diagnostic tests and ineffective therapies based on the belief that his rectal gas was produced in the colon. Analysis of three flatus samples demonstrated that nitrogen (N2) was the predominant flatus gas whereas the three gases produced in the gut (CO2, H2 [hydrogen], and CH4 [methane]) comprised <16% of rectal gas. This result plus a series of other diagnostic tests clearly indicated that the patient's flatus was derived almost entirely from swallowed air. Based on this case, the present report summarizes available data on excessive flatulence and suggests a rational approach to the patient complaining of this problem. Particular emphasis is placed upon a sequential strategy consisting of: 1) a count of flatus passages to determine if the subject truly is abnormal (normal: <20 passages/day); 2) an analysis of flatus to determine if the flatus originates from swallowed air (predominantly nitrogen) or intraluminal production (predominantly CO2, H2, and CH4); and 3) treatment based upon the origin of the rectal gas.