Guys smell like vanilla
Hey, I'm not making this stuff up people. According to a research group (some of them at Duke University over in Durham NC--just a few miles from where I work) some people perceive male sweat as smelling like vanilla. Kinda makes me feel like a potential air fragrance factory. Not just stinky.
Here's the lead paragraphs from the Reuter's Newswire story:
So what do you think? You women out there--do men smell as good as fresh baked cookies?
Androstenone, a chemical which is created when the body breaks down the male sex hormone testosterone, is in the sweat of men and women, but it is more highly concentrated in men. How one perceives its smell appears to have a lot to do with variations in one odor receptor gene called OR7D4.
The Duke U research group, found the OR7D4 gene reacted strongly with the sex steroid androstenone. Next, they tested whether variations in this gene had an impact on how people perceived the smell of androstenone in male sweat.
They found that slight genetic variations determine whether androstenone has a pungent smell, a sweet, vanilla-like smell or no smell at all. The role of androstenone is not well understood in humans, but in pigs it sends a powerful sex signal that makes sows horny.
The Duke U group, headed up by Hiroaki Matsunami, will further study this aspect to understand how smelling these chemicals might affect human social and sexual behavior. If nothing else, it might be the answer to the prayers of many a science geek. Look in the back of science magazines soon for ads promoting this product. $19.95 for a gram or two, perhaps?
Here's the lead paragraphs from the Reuter's Newswire story:
When it comes to a man's body odor, the fragrance -- or stench -- is in the nose of the beholder, according to U.S. researchers who suggest a single gene may determine how people perceive body odor.
The study, published online on Sunday in the journal Nature, helps explain why the same sweaty man can smell like vanilla to some, like urine to others and for about a third of adults, have no smell at all.
The study, published online on Sunday in the journal Nature, helps explain why the same sweaty man can smell like vanilla to some, like urine to others and for about a third of adults, have no smell at all.
So what do you think? You women out there--do men smell as good as fresh baked cookies?
Androstenone, a chemical which is created when the body breaks down the male sex hormone testosterone, is in the sweat of men and women, but it is more highly concentrated in men. How one perceives its smell appears to have a lot to do with variations in one odor receptor gene called OR7D4.
The Duke U research group, found the OR7D4 gene reacted strongly with the sex steroid androstenone. Next, they tested whether variations in this gene had an impact on how people perceived the smell of androstenone in male sweat.
They found that slight genetic variations determine whether androstenone has a pungent smell, a sweet, vanilla-like smell or no smell at all. The role of androstenone is not well understood in humans, but in pigs it sends a powerful sex signal that makes sows horny.
The Duke U group, headed up by Hiroaki Matsunami, will further study this aspect to understand how smelling these chemicals might affect human social and sexual behavior. If nothing else, it might be the answer to the prayers of many a science geek. Look in the back of science magazines soon for ads promoting this product. $19.95 for a gram or two, perhaps?
Comments
But if some women actually do smell vanilla on their man, it helps explain the mystery of why some women will jump a sweaty guy. The thought kind of makes me cringe though.
~S
(Sorry, was that TMI?)
On Men?
You can't beat the smell of Ivory Soap.
Period.
take that science research!