"The Pill" alters womens preference in male scent

Here's a wierd, unintended consequence of birth control pills. They alter a women's preference in male scent.

It's thought that women naturally prefer the scent of men with MHC's different from their own as a way of ensuring adequate genetic diversity. Somehow, the pill makes women prefer the scent of men with MHC's similiar to their own instead.

This could have disturbing implications for the population as a whole and for relationships. Consider a woman who likes the scent of her husband until they decide to have kids. Suddenly, there's something "off" about him. Could this be a factor in the rising level of divorce?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

The pill mimics pregnancy in women. Pregnant animals tend to prefer to hang out with family, since strange males like to kill offspring that aren't theirs and then impregnate the female with their own offspring. By hanging out with a relative, the female can assure that it'll be protected- similar genes protect each other, etc.

The major way, it seems, that mammals smell each other, is based on the MHC complex. It somehow produces different smells, depending on what it looks like. So different smelling males will smell "dangerous" to the pregnant (or pseudo pregnant, in the human's case) female.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

You know, that's a damned good explanation!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide all adverts.

It could be. Western medicine tends to be magic bullets with these fine print side effects lists. I am not sure how long it is going to take for them to figure out that when you affect one thing in complicated life forms, you affect everything.

I would assume that cologne, perfume, scented deoderants, etc. are all affecting this issue also.

We are at war with one of the key tools of love.

 

Just a layman question..what is MHC?

 

i hate to say this mad but there could be a more mundain answer. The nose is part of the brain (litterally) and it could be a symple case of the drug interfearing directly with the receptors which detect smell

Of course MacGyvers answer is much more interesting

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

Major Histocompatibility Complex. Its a large genomic region found in all or most vertebrates. There is evidence [from studies where young women sniffed Tshirts worn by men and other such high brow stuff] that sexual attraction is the result of "smells" caused by a differences in MHC between partners. ie the more different you are, the more attractive to each other.

I wonder if it also holds consistent for homosexuals. No one has done it in gays, that I know of.

 

MHC are cell surface receptors (ie. proteins). The genes that encode MHC proteins are found in a large genomic region found in all vertebrates.

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

Thanks, I stand corrected. I thought the MHC referred to the region in the gene, I guess it refers to the proteins.

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

I wonder if you could buy these smells in a cologne

 

Thanks, Sam and HR for learnin' me somthin' new.

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

I'm with orcot....how can I use this scientific data to get laid?

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

it wouldnt really help. all it would do is randomly change WHO found you atractive. now colognes which contain pherimones are possable though. There is also surposed to be a chemical which induces hornyness. I herd about the proffessor who found it, when he releaced it acidently into his lab all his assistances started to get really flirtatious, so he froze it until it could be analized

 

Thanks.
My girlfriend went on the pill for a couple months, and she did a ton of research. One of the things she found out was that little hypothesis.

It refers to both, I believe. The proteins also have more specific names; such as the DQ group (are the AB blood groups also part of the MHC?). I do a lot of sequencing on mammals, and we refer to that region of the genome indiscriminately as DQA, DQB, etc.

 

The MHC antigen proteins are largely what determine transplant compatability/rejection by the way. Not exactly on topic but I thought someone should mention it.

Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

 

thats a good explanation but, by using that logic then women would want to leave the father of their unborn child.

 

I knew there was a reason why I instinctively refuse to take the pill.

 

having three kids...... i think that may be true, women do wants us far away when they are pregnant. or at least they attempt to drive us away.

 

Here something that might or might not be of use. Some women like nicking Men's Jumpers and wearing them themselves, the reason for this is obviously the Jumper itself will smell like their partner (I'm not suggesting Sweaty BO here, I mean if the man is clean cut then it's likely to have faint traces of Colgne etc)

A women can then be on her own, wearing said jumper and well feel "hugged" by the guy it belongs to (along with all the memories etc)

Now what this made me think of is how cats brush their face up on people when they seek attention, as proportion of the attention seeking is a transfer of "smells" to identify who family is. Obviously a cat isn't a direct genetic relative, so requires this process of attention to feel like it fits in, don't stroke a cat and well it tends to start ignoring you.

The point here is if the attraction is based upon a person "smelling" similar, perhaps wearing the jumper helps continue an attraction. (Of course the guy would have to take it back every now and then and wear it too)

 

na it would nauseate me too. ha ha