Harvard researcher says women’s sweaty armpits turn men on.

[jody]

QUOTE
Joan Friebely of Harvard University and Susan Rako, a private physician in Newton, Massachusetts, have studied 44 post-menopausal women. Half added Athena Pheromone 10:13, originally isolated from a woman's armpit sweat, to their perfume while half added a dummy compound. Neither the women nor the researchers knew who was in each group until the results were in.

In diaries kept by the women for six weeks, 41 per cent of pheromone users reported more petting, kissing and affection with partners compared with 14 per cent receiving the placebo. Overall, 68 per cent of pheromone users reported increases in at least one of four "intimate socio-sexual behaviours" such as formal dates and sex, as against 41 per cent on the placebo (The Journal of Sex Research, vol 41, p 372).
UNQUOTE

EDIT TO ADD
Sex pheromone spray boosts senior romance

[ElectroPrincess]

1. Ya know? There are some marvels of science that ...

we really don't need to know. :puke:

[iamjoy]

2. Male Sweat Relaxes Women

At least, I remember hearing about some study that found that.

But it is usually men who fell asleep after...

[Viva_La_Revolution]

25. massive doses help relieve cramps.

I swear to God, but please don't ask how I know..

[bloodyjack]

3. Is there anything that doesnt arouse men

I would really know because to my knowledge there isn't

[MuseRider]

4. LOL

Let me know if you find out. I won't hold my breath.

[oneighty]

10. Hey MuseRider

180

[MuseRider]

13. Hi there 180!

I am leaving in a few to go to rehearsal and then play the concert tonight that I promised you the CD from. The Dvorak Cello Concerto. Unfortunately because of the weather we are doing it with only 3 rehearsals so I may be too embarrassed to send you our CD. If so I will send another. :hi:

[oneighty]

15. Thank you.

180

[Nothing Without Hope]

8. ROTFLMAO! That is too funny! And perhaps a bit true at that

Gotta love 'em! And their sometimes single-track minds too.
;-)

[BAPhill]

5. Not this guy...

don't buy it.

[Nothing Without Hope]

11. The numbers do seem rather too dramatic

I believe that pheromones do contribute to desire and sexual compatibility, but the magnitude of this effect seems ... odd. It is also quite a boon to the marketing plans of the discoverers of the mystery sweat ingredient. Coincidence? Perhaps.

I would want to see the experimental design studied and possibly improved upon in a new study by people who had no reason to hope for one result over the other.

[drdon326]

6. women’s sweaty armpits ???

talk slowly....i got a woody that just wont quit.

[ClintonTyree]

9. If it last for more than four hours...................

seek medical attention. At least that what the ad on TV advises.

[underseasurveyor]

26. Or..............

Call your friends and brag about it :evilgrin:

[oneighty]

7. Ahhhhh

the scent of a woman.

It is true.

180

[JitterbugPerfume]

12. so------

ladies , if you be horny quit using so much deodorant

[Gyre]

14. who gives a shit?

What a worthless expenditure of ATP and paper!

[SmokingJacket]

16. Actually, I can't say I "care"...

but knowing how certain chemicals create effects in the human brain is valuable knowledge. We know very little about how the brain works, so I'm glad this kind of research is being done.

But if they're planning to use this to market a hot new SuperPerfume, I take it all back.

[Freebird12004]

17. pits are the pits

to some. But I have to put up with myself, I'll stick with using deodorant.

[Nothing Without Hope]

18. I don't believe it. But if it were true, it would be UNETHICAL AS HELL.

I was laughing about this earlier, I realized, because I really don't believe the reported results. They're too dramatic and too convenient a fit for the marketing portfolio.

But what if they were true? Let's pretend a bit here:

Let's say...

1. ...the new pheromone can strongly affect the level of men's attraction to women, including those to whom they would not ordinarily be drawn. The experimental results are true and can probably be tinkered with to make the effect even stronger.

2. ...the pheromone is then put into commercial perfumes, which can be worn without letting other people know they are there. Men's sexual behavior can, in effect, be now bottled and bought for a price. Wealthy women can then buy men's involuntary sexual desire without their knowledge or consent.

3. ...based on this success, some bright bulb gets the idea of extending the study to gay men. Do they respond to this pheromone? Is there another pheromone in MEN's sweat that attracts them? Or perhaps they find a pheromone that attracts women to men - or to other women. It's a form of thought control, though it acts through the body.

4. ...other people get the idea of trying to use these pheromones to tinker with sexual behavior -- maybe to discourage homosexuality, which many still regard as a sort of contagious disease when they are not thinking of it as an evil life-style choice. You know this would happen, the Repubs would love it.

5. ... more bright bulbs get the idea of using manipulated desire to sell products. (Not like they don't do that already, but this would be more potent and secret.) Or gain supporters for political candidates or policies. Lots of possibilities, all secret and all without consent. There are good reasons for the laws that forbid those advertisements with pictures that flash too quickly to be recognized but which make a subconscious impression: subliminal advertising. It works in a way that is a form of thought control. So might these pheromones, manipulated by master advertising and public relations specialists.

Do you see where this is all going -- this is blatantly unethical. I don't believe the results are true as reported, but if they are or can be achieved by further tinkering, this is extremely dangerous territory. It may be merely interesting and a scientific contribution when it is done with laboratory mice, but it would be dangerously wrong to secretly manipulate other people's desires this way. And they are already saying that this is what they want to do for money.

It's also such a damned ugly, mechanized way to perceptualize the many layers of bonds and attractions between an intimate couple. Again, that's all too good a fit with this sick society.

[jody]

19. I understand but men have used alcohol for a long time to break down

women's inhibitions. Perhaps it's time for women to even the score. :shrug:

[Nothing Without Hope]

20. I can't agree. Both are wrong, and the pheromones...

could have the potential for much more broad manipulation. Making literally sexy perfume would only be the first step. I find this possibility rather scary and all too believable, given the PR-driven marketing and politics in our society. Adding a calculated cocktail of pheromones to manipulate a message's or a public figure's reception is all too easy to imagine.

[jody]

21. Understand, but like other research, all can be used for good or bad.n/t

[Nothing Without Hope]

22. More than usual potential for bad in THIS research, I fear

I'm a cell biologist/biochemist, so I can't help but think through the natural "future steps" in this work:

For example: If the results are true, and this isolated pheromone can have such a strong effect on human behavior, then more will be sought and THEIR effects on behavior will be studied. The arsenal of pheromone tools for modifying behavior without consent or knowlege will grow.

For example: Using the techniques of modern high-throughput molecular biology and drug discovery, the molecular receptors for the behavior-modifying pheromones will be identified, cloned, and every aspect of their functions studied. New pheromone analogues with different or more powerful effects, or inhibitors with the ability to block the pheromone effects (for example to "turn off" desire) will be synthesized.

It all comes down to how much human beings really can be controlled by their pheromones. That's why I am hoping that the result of the described "sweaty armpits" story are wrong: if people really are that susceptible to invisible chemicals that can be added to their environment, the potential for abuse is huge, especially in our current sick society and with our power-mad fascist government.

Can you imagine a world where pleasure/desire/recklessness pheromones are added to the "new car smell" of the most expensive models at a car dealership? Or pheromones are released into the air while a political candidate makes a speech? Or homosexual people are "treated" with pheromones intended to change their sexual orientation? There are so many opportunities for abuse -- IF human pheromones can truly be so effective at manipulating emotions and behavior.

So I'm hoping the replication of this experiment is a total bust and it goes down as another flash-in-the-pan disproved by subsequent work.

[Dogmudgeon]

27. Cokearoma

Some years ago, a scent called Cokearoma was marketed to cocaine merchants. The scent was developed after analyzing the residuals of several chemicals used in the processing of illicit cocaine, which almost always were present in recreational coke.

The idea was that coke dealers had associated the scent with "clean" batches of cocaine, and by adding it, low-quality cocaine could be given that "clean," high-priced smell.

The stuff was also marketed to police forces to train dogs to sniff out cocaine.

Has anyone heard more about this?

--p!
SINUSITIS: The Anti-Drug

[NMDemDist2]

23. so part of a "new car smell" may soon include women's pits?

LOL that's one way to sell a car :evilgrin:

[Orsino]

24. Harvard researchers say a lot of things, don't they? n/t