A Czech study finds that women who are ovulating tend to prefer the smell from the armpits of dominant men.
Jan Havlicek of Charles University in Prague got 48 men to complete questionnaires that measured their social dominance, Nature reports. The men were also asked to collect their underarm sweat by wearing cotton pads.
A group of 65 women then sniffed the pads.
Havlicek and his colleagues reported in Biology Letters 1 that women who were ovulating -- and thus at their most fertile -- and were in stable relationships rated sweat from the men with high scores for dominance highest. Other women did not show this preference.
The researchers suggested that while women are likely to pair up with men they believe will be good fathers they might be hardwired to stray with men with good genes.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
Related stories:
Gene determines whether male body odor smells pleasant
To many, urine smells like urine and vanilla smells like vanilla. But androstenone, a derivative of testosterone that is a potent ingredient in male body odor, can smell like either - depending on your genes. While many people perceive a foul odor from androstenone, usually that of stale urine or strong sweat, others find the scent sweet and pleasant. Still others cannot smell it at all.
300 dates in 24 hours? No sweat
Francesca Salcido went on 300 dates in 24 hours without breaking a sweat. Her encounters with aspiring beaus happened online at SpeedDate.com, a US start-up built on a belief that it doesn't take more than 90 seconds to find a life partner.
Researchers Discover Dual-Use Sexual Attraction and Population-Control Chemicals in Nematodes
(PhysOrg.com) -- Organisms ranging from humans to plants to the lowliest bacterium use molecules to communicate. Some chemicals trigger the various stages of an organism's development, and still others are used to attract members of the opposite sex. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have now found a rare kind of signaling molecule in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans that serves a dual purpose, working as both a population-control mechanism and a sexual attractant.
Researchers find dual-use sexual attraction and population-control chemicals in nematodes
Organisms ranging from humans to plants to the lowliest bacterium use molecules to communicate. Some chemicals trigger the various stages of an organism's development, and still others are used to attract members of the opposite sex. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have now found a rare kind of signaling molecule in the nematode worm
Caenorhabditis elegans that serves a dual purpose, working as both a population-control mechanism and a sexual attractant.
Newly launched study to probe women's response to male odor
A single gene determines whether a whiff of androstadienone smells pleasant or foul, or like nothing at all. But researchers who last year discovered this genetic peculiarity were left wondering about its social implications.
Ethnic discrimination not only based on prejudice
Our belief in power hierarchies is important in how we view and treat people. This is shown in a dissertation by Alexandra Snellman from Uppsala University that examines how racist and sexist prejudice creates social hierarchies and ethnic discrimination in various situations.
Wake up and smell the sweat
Some people are oblivious to the odor in the locker room after a game, while others wrinkle their noses at the slightest whiff of sweat. Research by Prof. Doron Lancet and research student Idan Menashe of the Molecular Genetics Department, which appeared recently in
PLoS Biology, has now shown that this difference is at least partly genetic.
Macho men are seen as bad choice for long-term love
Women see ‘masculine’ men as unsuitable long-term partners, new research suggests. Conversely, the psychologists from Durham and St Andrews Universities found that men with feminine facial features are seen as more committed and less likely to cheat on their partners.