terry0400-40
12-19-2008, 11:41 PM
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Can
our pheromones attract a
partner?
http://health.ninemsn.com.au/img/whatsgoodforyou/wgfy_watc
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Why is it that members of the opposite sex flock to some people like moths to a flame?
Whereas nobody bothers to chase the others?
Is it just the way they look or are there other biological forces at
work — like the way they smell? Could the secret to finding the perfect partner lie in your pheromones?
A
pheromone is a chemical produced by a living organism that transmits a message to other members of the same species.
It's particularly well developed in the insect world — but do we humans produce pheromones as a means to attract a
partner?
The test
Our reporter Leila McKinnon is going to test it out with three hunky young students
from Yale University in Connecticut. They've been working up a sweat in their T-shirts which we're going to get
three girls to sniff to see which they like.
Now proponents of the theory that pheromones work for humans, think
that we attract a partner with the most opposite immune system, so any babies we have are protected from more
diseases. Sounds fair enough, but is it true? Let's find out who smells the sexiest.
Our three brave female
volunteers Julianne, Kate and Jocelyn need to have a good sniff of each shirt and decide which one is the most
attractive.
Julianne goes first and she's the one with the most at stake. One of the shirts belongs to her
brother Greg. Remember, we choose partners with immune systems most unlike ours, so Julianne should reject the smell
of Greg's T-shirt since brother and sister share similar immune systems.
After all three have had a good sniff,
it's time to find out which guy's going to come up smelling of roses — and does this pheromone theory have any
legs?
Results
Which one did Kate like most?
"Definitely, the first one, because it was the least
repulsive and I like a guy that smells good."
First score to Michael.
What about Jocelyn? She also chooses
Michael's shirt.
Now for the big question — which shirt did Julienne choose? Remember, she shouldn't be
attracted to the T-shirt her brother wore because its smell signals an immune system too much like her own.
But,
she also chooses Michael — thank goodness for that! So far, the theory holds true.
So which shirt belonged to
Julianne's brother?
Julianne: "I hope it's the middle one so I can make fun of him because that one by far
smells the worse."
Yes, that is her brother's shirt!
Leila: "How do you feel about the fact that you didn't
pick your brother's shirt?"
Julianne: "It's a relief to me because I went into this fearing that it was going to
be familiar to me and choosing it would be embarrassing and then everyone would think that I had some weird sexual
attraction to my brother — so I'm very relieved."
So in our test Michael had the most appealing pheromones. But
if nature hasn't been as kind to you is there a chemical shortcut? Yes, apparently. Chemically synthesised
pheromones are already on the market. But do they work?
Twins Phoebe and Edwina have volunteered to go speed
dating for us. Phoebe has been using pheromones for a week while Edwina will be the control in this experiment.
Let the pheromone fun begin!
As twins, their immune systems are identical, so that's not going to influence the
guys' choice. Their personalities are similar too.
So which gal will win the hearts of the most guys at our speed
dating event?
All the daters are given scores out of 10 for personality, attractiveness, romantic interest and
whether they'd like to see them again.
Who won? Edwina!
Greg, Tyler and Ned gave Edwina their highest score.
While Pat gave both girls top marks. Ben was the only guy to pick Phoebe.
Leila: "What do you think about
pheromones now?"
Edwina: "Well, I don't think they're that trustworthy."
Phoebe: "I don't think they work."
At Columbia University, biologist Dr Stuart Firestein agrees. In fact, he says humans don't even have an organ
for detecting pheromones.
"In humans it's only there embryonically. By the time we're born this organ and its
contents have disappeared so there's no direct method to detect pheromones in humans," he says.
Conclusion
If smell is a part of our mating ritual, then there's a whole lot going on that we don't know about. So it's
probably not wise to rely on your nose to pick your perfect partner.
So don't give up the make-up, hairdos and
nice outfit just yet! After all, you still have to attract a mate by sight, before you can get close enough to give
them a good sniff!
Fast facts
Getting ready for a big date? Should you slap on the aftershave
and perfume? Or are there other smells that will turn on the opposite sex? Well forget your expensive perfumes
girls, researchers in Chicago found that for blokes, a mixture of pumpkin pie and lavender was the biggest turn on.
And for women, after-shave was a turn off. What gets the girls hot to trot is a good whiff of liquorice candy and
cucumber. Go
figure!http://health.ninemsn.com.au/img/whatsgoodforyou/wgfy_watchvideo
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http://health.ninemsn.com.au/img/whatsgoodforyou/episode10/header_pheromones.jpg
Can
our pheromones attract a
partner?
http://health.ninemsn.com.au/img/whatsgoodforyou/wgfy_watc
hvideo.jpg (http://ninemsn.video.msn.com/v/en-au/v.htm?f=39&g=45a96698-ecbe-4eca-b26f-a0cd45f86455&
p=autvshows_auwhatsgoodforyou&t=m1097&mediaid=34691)
Why is it that members of the opposite sex flock to some people like moths to a flame?
Whereas nobody bothers to chase the others?
Is it just the way they look or are there other biological forces at
work — like the way they smell? Could the secret to finding the perfect partner lie in your pheromones?
A
pheromone is a chemical produced by a living organism that transmits a message to other members of the same species.
It's particularly well developed in the insect world — but do we humans produce pheromones as a means to attract a
partner?
The test
Our reporter Leila McKinnon is going to test it out with three hunky young students
from Yale University in Connecticut. They've been working up a sweat in their T-shirts which we're going to get
three girls to sniff to see which they like.
Now proponents of the theory that pheromones work for humans, think
that we attract a partner with the most opposite immune system, so any babies we have are protected from more
diseases. Sounds fair enough, but is it true? Let's find out who smells the sexiest.
Our three brave female
volunteers Julianne, Kate and Jocelyn need to have a good sniff of each shirt and decide which one is the most
attractive.
Julianne goes first and she's the one with the most at stake. One of the shirts belongs to her
brother Greg. Remember, we choose partners with immune systems most unlike ours, so Julianne should reject the smell
of Greg's T-shirt since brother and sister share similar immune systems.
After all three have had a good sniff,
it's time to find out which guy's going to come up smelling of roses — and does this pheromone theory have any
legs?
Results
Which one did Kate like most?
"Definitely, the first one, because it was the least
repulsive and I like a guy that smells good."
First score to Michael.
What about Jocelyn? She also chooses
Michael's shirt.
Now for the big question — which shirt did Julienne choose? Remember, she shouldn't be
attracted to the T-shirt her brother wore because its smell signals an immune system too much like her own.
But,
she also chooses Michael — thank goodness for that! So far, the theory holds true.
So which shirt belonged to
Julianne's brother?
Julianne: "I hope it's the middle one so I can make fun of him because that one by far
smells the worse."
Yes, that is her brother's shirt!
Leila: "How do you feel about the fact that you didn't
pick your brother's shirt?"
Julianne: "It's a relief to me because I went into this fearing that it was going to
be familiar to me and choosing it would be embarrassing and then everyone would think that I had some weird sexual
attraction to my brother — so I'm very relieved."
So in our test Michael had the most appealing pheromones. But
if nature hasn't been as kind to you is there a chemical shortcut? Yes, apparently. Chemically synthesised
pheromones are already on the market. But do they work?
Twins Phoebe and Edwina have volunteered to go speed
dating for us. Phoebe has been using pheromones for a week while Edwina will be the control in this experiment.
Let the pheromone fun begin!
As twins, their immune systems are identical, so that's not going to influence the
guys' choice. Their personalities are similar too.
So which gal will win the hearts of the most guys at our speed
dating event?
All the daters are given scores out of 10 for personality, attractiveness, romantic interest and
whether they'd like to see them again.
Who won? Edwina!
Greg, Tyler and Ned gave Edwina their highest score.
While Pat gave both girls top marks. Ben was the only guy to pick Phoebe.
Leila: "What do you think about
pheromones now?"
Edwina: "Well, I don't think they're that trustworthy."
Phoebe: "I don't think they work."
At Columbia University, biologist Dr Stuart Firestein agrees. In fact, he says humans don't even have an organ
for detecting pheromones.
"In humans it's only there embryonically. By the time we're born this organ and its
contents have disappeared so there's no direct method to detect pheromones in humans," he says.
Conclusion
If smell is a part of our mating ritual, then there's a whole lot going on that we don't know about. So it's
probably not wise to rely on your nose to pick your perfect partner.
So don't give up the make-up, hairdos and
nice outfit just yet! After all, you still have to attract a mate by sight, before you can get close enough to give
them a good sniff!
Fast facts
Getting ready for a big date? Should you slap on the aftershave
and perfume? Or are there other smells that will turn on the opposite sex? Well forget your expensive perfumes
girls, researchers in Chicago found that for blokes, a mixture of pumpkin pie and lavender was the biggest turn on.
And for women, after-shave was a turn off. What gets the girls hot to trot is a good whiff of liquorice candy and
cucumber. Go
figure!http://health.ninemsn.com.au/img/whatsgoodforyou/wgfy_watchvideo
.jpg (http://ninemsn.video.msn.com/v/en-au/v.htm?f=39&g=45a96698-ecbe-4eca-b26f-a0cd45f86455&p=autv
shows_auwhatsgoodforyou&t=m1097&mediaid=34691)
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