Believe it or not, nose is the pathway to love. It is through the baby’s bond with its mother that the power of body odour is established, scientists believe.
In a rare research to conclude the suspected ill effects of contraceptive pills among the women, 100 subjects were selected to participate in an experiment that involved sweat, scents and trigger factor for them to move closer towards the right man. When 100 women were asked to sniff 100 men’s sweaty shirts in the interests of discovering the secrets of sexual attraction, they found the contraceptive Pill worsening their ability to select the ideal partner.
Potentially body odour plays an important part in mate selection but the Pill appears to interfere with a woman’s sense of smell, undermining her capacity to make the best choice, researchers said.
Theoretically, opposites attract – in gender and in genes. But the study revealed that instead of going for genetically dissimilar mates, as human beings are instinctively inclined to do, women on the Pill tended to select men more genetically similar to themselves.
It is suggested that if continues, its going to be evolutionary suicide because the survival of the species depends on genetic diversity. Going for genetically similar men, detected from body odour, may increase a woman’s risk of difficulties trying to conceive, miscarriage and of long intervals between pregnancies. Whether the "armpit effect" is sufficiently strong to trump those traditionally desirable marriage traits is a matter of debate. But researchers at the University of Liverpool insist body odour is a powerful determinant of mate selection.
Craig Roberts, a lecturer in evolutionary psychology who led the study, said: "When eyes meet across a crowded room, looks obviously count first in determining who we find attractive. But smell is an important sense for us. We are animals after all. Smell kicks in more in maintaining a relationship – it may not affect who you are attracted to in a crowded bar, but it may determine how you feel about them next morning."
When we are attracted to someone we unconsciously register their odour, because it triggers ancient memories of being cuddled in the first few minutes of life. The sexually compatible enjoy one another’s odour that is one meaning of the sexual chemistry between them.
For women, body odour is important in mate selection because it is a way of avoiding in-breeding. Women often say that the most important sex organ is the brain, but the nose may run a close second.
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