Close

Results 1 to 12 of 12
  1. #1
    Full Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Posts
    199
    Rep Power
    7820

    Default Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    visit-red-300x50PNG
    Hey, I was reading the Boston Globe today and noticed this article about pheromones. It doesn\'t really have any new info for us over here, but I figured I\'d let you guys know about it anyhow since it isn\'t every day that newspapers write about pheromones. I think the link expires pretty quickly, so I\'ll just post the article itself too. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/245/science/Looking_for_love_potion_number_nineP.shtml

    Looking for love potion number nine

    Scientists and perfumers are searching for the chemical scent that drives humans wild

    By Cathryn M. Delude, Globe Correspondent, 9/2/2003

    \'\'Warning: Contains pheromones. (Wear if you dare!) May excite wild physical attraction.\'\' Thus beckons a suggestively shaped vial of \'\'Chemical: Attraction\'\' in the CVS display. Vogue International offers this fragrance for men and women for just $14.99. Who could resist the temptation to conduct a field test?

    Pheromones are airborne, mostly odorless chemicals that alter sexual behavior, mark territory, and influence reproduction throughout the animal kingdom. But whether humans send and receive \'\'sex chemicals\'\' is a hot and bothered topic.

    Recent tantalizing studies suggest that chemicals emanating from our pores do affect the behavior and biochemistry of others. Fragrance companies have caught whiff of this research, and the Internet abounds with products sporting names such as \'\'Primal Instinct\'\' or \'\'Rogue Male\'\' promising to make you an irresistible sex magnet.

    The real warning about human pheromones should be \'\'buyer beware.\'\' While many scientists believe that human pheromones exist, they disagree about whether they have identified any specific chemical compound that is one. In the popular understanding, pheromones cause an instinctual, almost automatic sexual response, which scientists call a \'\'releaser\'\' effect. That effect is well-studied in animals, but has never been observed in humans.

    Nevertheless, fragrance companies are focusing -- and funding -- research concerning pheromones\' potential for sexual arousal. \'\'There\'s often a sexual component in the way we sell our fragrances,\'\' said Leslie Smith, an organic chemist and vice president of fragrance technology development at Coty International. \'\'Can we put something into our products that can generate the pheromone effect and enhance attraction? We know that animals have signaling chemicals that induce sexual behaviors.\'\'

    For example, a male pig secretes the pheromone androstenone in his saliva, and when the female \'\'smells\'\' it, she goes into a mating stance. \'\'The dream of male humans is that there would be such a compound,\'\' joked Carol Christensen, a psychologist in the research division of International Fragrance and Flavors.

    If humans do produce pheromones, the underarm is where we might do so, with its many glands and its proximity to a companion\'s nose. Our sebaceous glands secrete a clear liquid that becomes mixed with thousands of odorless compounds oozing from other glands. Bacteria on our skin break down those compounds into volatile molecules, both odoriferous and odorless, producing an \'\'odor print\'\' as unique as our fingerprints. Any pheromones among them would drift into our companion\'s nasal passage and stimulate specialized but still elusive receptors. Finding those receptors will resolve the dispute about whether humans have a \'\'vomeronasal organ\'\' devoted to sensing pheromones, as many other animals do, or whether pheromone receptors are interspersed with olfactory receptors in the nasal passage.

    George Preti, an organic chemist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, first began sniffing out the secrets of the underarm in the 1980s in collaboration with Winnefred Cutler of the University of Pennsylvania\'s psychology department. They hoped to explain the observation that women living together fall into menstrual synchrony, having their periods at the same time, a finding made in 1971 by Martha McClintock, a leading pheromone researcher now at the University of Chicago. Preti and Cutler discovered that women exposed to just the underarm extracts of other women adjusted their menstrual cycles to be in synch, and that male underarm extracts made women with irregular cycles more regular.

    They hypothesized that those underarm extracts must contain pheromones, because the effects could not be explained in any other way, and they were consistent with the way pheromones function in other mammals. Since then, other researchers have followed the underarm trail. Recently, Preti and his Monell colleague, Charles Wycoski, reported that male underarm extracts can affect the cycles of a specific reproductive hormone in women. Those extracts also affected the mood of women, making them calmer and more relaxed.

    What about the effects of female pheromones on men? In a 2001 study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas, men described the smell of a woman\'s T-shirt as more \'\'sexy\'\' or \'\'pleasant\'\' during the fertile stage of her menstrual cycle than the shirt of the same woman during her infertile stage.

    But which molecules in the underarm secretions are active pheromones? Some researchers -- who often tend to market pheromone products -- claim to know, but most maintain that it\'s still a mystery. \'\'It\'s a big challenge to separate, identify, and rebuild these chemicals,\'\' explained Smith.

    Two compounds that gained a mixed reputation as pheromones are androstadienone (AND) and estratetraenol (EST). AND is a derivative of testosterone and EST is a poorly understood relative of estrogen. Synthesized versions of these compounds have been patented and Christensen, of International Fragrance and Flavors, suspects some companies license them to market as sexual \'\'essences,\'\' but that information would be a trade secret.

    Could AND and EST be human pheromones? Some scientists are ready to say yes, because the chemicals change brain patterns as detected by EEGs, functional MRIs, and PET scans, and induce mood changes. That evidence is consistent with what pheromones would do, said Christensen. However, Preti disagrees: \'\'Those results were obtained from solutions of pure compounds with a thousand times the concentration found in humans.\'\'

    Meanwhile, Preti\'s former collaborator, Cutler, claims to have found the key to sexual attraction using a different set of compounds. She reexamined data from their 1986 studies and noticed that the women wearing the presumed female pheromones reported more frequent sexual activity than those wearing a placebo. She hypothesized that something in that extract acted as a sexual attractant. She claims to have synthesized the female and male sexual essence, which she markets through her for-profit Athena Institute and advertises in magazines. Users mix these odorless elixirs, which cost $100 for a sixth of an ounce, with their perfume or cologne. To provide legitimacy to skeptics, Cutler subjected her proprietary products to independent, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies; however, she did not reveal the chemical composition of the ingredients to the researchers. The results? \'\'The stuff works,\'\' said Norma McCoy, a professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, who conducted the study in young women in 2000. Seventy-four percent of those using the product perceived an increase in intimate activity involving a male, compared with 23 percent who used the placebo.

    These studies, however, did not examine physiological or biochemical changes. And critics contend that the data did not support those conclusions. They point to inconsistencies with the numbers and to the small sample sizes and short time period of the studies. \'\'But the biggest problem is that the experiment can\'t be replicated because we don\'t know [the chemical composition of] what was being tested,\'\' said Preti. \'\'Scientists have trouble with secrecy.\'\'

    Controversy aside, Christensen said pheromone research is reshaping the fragrance industry, indicating that the romance of scent is not just the fragrance you put on your skin, but also the chemicals that are coming out of your pores.

    So what\'s a lovelorn person to do? Remember that should pheromones actually make you more attractive, it\'s probably just a fleeting first impression; then your other charms, or lack of them, take over. When a man asked Christensen if he should buy a pheromone product to increase his sex appeal, her advice was, \'\'Don\'t stop brushing your teeth.\'\'


    This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 9/2/2003.
    © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.


  2. #2
    Phero Enthusiast
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    323
    Rep Power
    7725

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    Great, more people find out about mones. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

  3. #3
    Phero Enthusiast nonscents's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    349
    Rep Power
    7915

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    Mones will be commercialized. Accept it.

    Once upon a time vitamins were the obsession of an eccentric few. Now they are in makeup, lipstick, body lotion, toothpaste, dish detergent, shampoo, and whatever else some desperate marketer can think of.

    Everyone wants to be younger, sexier, wealthier, and more powerful. If IFF and Coty are working on this, that means everyone is trying to sell this stuff. Mones are going to be as mainstream as \"antioxidants\". Your junk e-mail will be filled with this stuff. It\'s the next coral calcium (you probably have to live in the US to know what I\'m talking about.)

    With mainstream mass marketing comes increased governmental scrutiny. I don\'t necessarily think that that is a bad thing. We have had a number of discussions here regarding the ethical implications of pheromone use. None of those discussions were the last word on the matter. Regulation is a real possibility.

    To Manchorito: everyone already knows about mones. They are not a big secret. Nor are they a secret weapon. A few people get lucky and find their magic bullet on the first try. But for most it\'s a slow, difficult process. Few people will have the patience and dedication needed to tease out through careful experimentation what works for them. Again, it\'s like vitamins. Everyone, including me, wants to be told that this pill will increase my longevity and well-being. But the truth rarely is that simple. Over many years of experimentation I have found less than a handful of supplements that really helped me in obvious ways. And what helped me probably won\'t help you.

    The whole world knows about vitamins and a good part of that world takes them. But my guess is that a very small proportion of that world is helped by them.

  4. #4
    Phero Guru Sagacious1420's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Posts
    1,537
    Rep Power
    7718

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    Nonscents-

    You\'ve got a point there. I think evidence of the wide acceptance and marketability of mones can be found in a line of men\'s and women\'s fragrance by Marilyn Miglin. It\'s called \"Pheromone\", yet contains no human pheros or at least it\'s not mentioned anywhere that I\'ve seen. Regardless, they are using the concept of pheros, as an attractant, to market their product.

    I saw evidence of the common knowledge of pheros back when I was teaching wine courses. When you\'re tasting many wines it\'s easy to experience nasal fatigue, so I would tell the students to smell themselves to \"neutralize\" their sniffer. I would commonly make a joke, by telling folks not to smell each other because then we\'re dealing w/ pheromones and I don\'t think we want to go there today. If ppl didn\'t associate pheros w/ sexual attraction, then the joke wouldn\'t be funny. Virtually everyone got the joke.

    However, I\'m not certain how many people accept the concept of pheromones vs. how many actually believe that pheromone products are anything more than \"snake oil\".

    I don\'t think we need to worry about saturation any time soon, though.

  5. #5
    Newbie
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Posts
    40
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    don\'t worry, it really wouldn\'t work. If 2 people in 1 room whore cologne with pheromones there would most likely be an od. And i don\'t think they would be able to go against products like te and npa. If they try it people will complain because of the bad smell none gives off and nobody will buy it. We all buy cologne/perfume to smell good right ?

  6. #6
    Bodhi Satva CptKipling's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    5,142
    Rep Power
    8497

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    I think PheroX has an important point, not many poeople (of all the phero users) know what the best products are, let alone how to use them.

  7. #7
    Full Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Posts
    199
    Rep Power
    7820

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    Glad to hear everyone\'s feedback on this issue! Scary thoughts...if a bunch of people in the Boston area decided to go out and buy some PI/M after reading that article, we could be seeing some pretty nasty -none ODs! Then again, that might make the area a goldmine for someone with plenty of -nol, heh.

  8. #8
    Newbie
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Posts
    40
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    as far as i know most people don\'t belive in pheromones. most who have bought the apc from one of the many sites that sell it and say it will have girls wanting to blow you as soon as they see you. They tried it and didn\'t see those results so they don\'t think any pheromones will work. Once they see that polo comes out with a cologne that contains pheromones they will most likely laugh at it. Others will want to try it out in hopes of getting sex from strangers. Thinking they\'ll get a stronger attraction with more spray\'s they will od and probably stink. They will see no results and then give up on it. Another thing to take note of is that girls would know what cologne\'s have pheromones in them, i\'m not a girl but i don\'t think they would like the idea of a guy trying to get them attracted to him by the use of mones. In my opinion all of this will blow over after a few companies release thier colognes with pheromones.

  9. #9
    Enlightened One
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    4,678
    Rep Power
    8371

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    Well its good to see it gettting some research - more customers to bruce and perhaps more products from new entrants etc.

  10. #10
    Phero Guru Sagacious1420's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Posts
    1,537
    Rep Power
    7718

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    </font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
    as far as i know most people don\'t belive in pheromones. most who have bought the apc from one of the many sites that sell it and say it will have girls wanting to blow you as soon as they see you. They tried it and didn\'t see those results so they don\'t think any pheromones will work. Once they see that polo comes out with a cologne that contains pheromones they will most likely laugh at it. Others will want to try it out in hopes of getting sex from strangers. Thinking they\'ll get a stronger attraction with more spray\'s they will od and probably stink. They will see no results and then give up on it. Another thing to take note of is that girls would know what cologne\'s have pheromones in them, i\'m not a girl but i don\'t think they would like the idea of a guy trying to get them attracted to him by the use of mones. In my opinion all of this will blow over after a few companies release thier colognes with pheromones.

    <hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

    Exactly...how would a girl know that a cologne has pheromones in it? Is there a legion of women who are adept at detecting pheromones in a man\'s cologne? And how is that different from any mainstream cologne which had utilized other potentially pheromonic (yes I made that term up) ingredient such as civetone or any other animal derived (musk)pheromone?

    Oh, and regarding the impression of a potential target, did you happen to read DVk\'s post about her new guy and his inquiry about her use of pheros. It doesn\'t seem to be a big deal for them. I have had ppl ask about my newfound success w/ women...and I mean women who would have never noticed me in the past. I have two answers for them: (a)I\'ve been working out and taking supps...\"so what\'s the deal...can women smell testosterone\"...or I make my own colognes and if they are stimulating then I\'ve had a success\". I make no apologies that my colognes are designed to elicit specific reponses from women...just like any other cologne on the market. How is it OK for a perfume conglomerate to produce fragrances that are designed to excite the opposite sex(or in some cases the same sex), but condemn the most potent of attractants (human pheros) as hogwash.

  11. #11
    Banned User
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Posts
    361
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    </font><blockquote><font class=\"small\">Quote:</font><hr />
    Meanwhile, Preti\'s former collaborator, Cutler, claims to have found the key to sexual attraction using a different set of compounds. She reexamined data from their 1986 studies and noticed that the women wearing the presumed female pheromones reported more frequent sexual activity than those wearing a placebo. She hypothesized that something in that extract acted as a sexual attractant. She claims to have synthesized the female and male sexual essence, which she markets through her for-profit Athena Institute and advertises in magazines. Users mix these odorless elixirs, which cost $100 for a sixth of an ounce, with their perfume or cologne. To provide legitimacy to skeptics, Cutler subjected her proprietary products to independent, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies; however, she did not reveal the chemical composition of the ingredients to the researchers. The results? \'\'The stuff works,\'\' said Norma McCoy, a professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, who conducted the study in young women in 2000. Seventy-four percent of those using the product perceived an increase in intimate activity involving a male, compared with 23 percent who used the placebo.

    <hr /></blockquote><font class=\"post\">

    The Athena Institute product is sh!t. I\'ve tried it, and it doesn\'t work. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] There sales pitch, and research articles, are very compelling and they probably get a lot of first time buyers. My guess is that they get very little, if any, repeat business.

    Brian


  12. #12
    Moderator Mtnjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    SAN DIEGO
    Posts
    2,481
    Rep Power
    8333

    Default Re: Pheromone Article today in the Boston Globe

    \"Exactly...how would a girl know that a cologne has pheromones in it?\"

    Uh, by reading the ads??

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Using Pheromones for Attraction & Bonding -Article
    By Io_Sono in forum Pheromone Discussion
    Replies: 37
    Last Post: 03-09-2005, 07:42 PM
  2. Lily of the Valley and Pheromones
    By Thanatos in forum Women's Forum
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: 07-15-2004, 10:00 AM
  3. The Pheromone News; May, 2003
    By Bruce in forum Pheromone Discussion
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 05-09-2003, 12:32 PM
  4. Pheromone Research News
    By **DONOTDELETE** in forum Archives 2
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 06-24-2001, 06:32 PM
  5. PHEROMONE NEWS FOR MAY, 2001
    By **DONOTDELETE** in forum Archives 2
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 06-24-2001, 09:08 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •