The Truth About Pheromones (Smithsonian News Article)

[XSteveO]

The Truth About Pheromones
Yes, scientists say, your airborne compounds send signals about your moods, your sexual orientation and even your genetic makeup

By Sarah Everts
Smithsonian Magazine | Subscribe
March 2012

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...#ixzz2rQkiRhGf

This study offers some of the most recent evidence that people perceive all sorts of interesting things about one another through olfaction. Airborne molecules that elicit a reaction in a member of the same species are called pheromones, and the most famous ones are potent aphrodisiacs, like androstenone and androstenol in the saliva of male boars. If a fertile female gets a whiff of these molecules, she’ll present her rear to the male, a universal gesture in wild pig patois that means, “Let’s start a family.”

[Dignify]

Unless someone is exited by tears LOL.

On a serious note, this makes me wonder; is this another explanation for why we, ourselves, get sad when we are near someone who is crying? And we sort of "feel with him/her"? Or that we get happy when someone with a happy mood enters the room?

Just a thought

[Magnus]

From an anthropological standpoint, I think we evolved with a tendency to mimic the behaviors of those around us as a survival mechanism. Earlier in human development, it is not unreasonable to believe that chemical communication was occurring, especially before the development of language.

Are pheromones making you sad or happy? We already know that they can make you happy....IE Bliss and IS, and A1 is known to cause depression in some men although there is some debate as to whether its a night time relaxation feeling or actual depression is occurring because A1 is known to relax men very well and some Alpha types never unwind unless they are asleep. lol

So yes, I think we have evidence to show that Pheromones can and do make you happy or sad at times, and all animals exude signals when they are excited or under stress.

[XSteveO]

Very elegantly written.