George Dodd answers the fundamental question of how best to reproduce your genes on the occasion of upcoming Valentine's Day 2009. Yes, I know, not very romantic-sounding, but that's what it is all about really, at a certain level of biological reality.
"On the evening of St Valentine's Day last year, I held the world's first sniff-dating event in the Dana Centre at the London Science Museum. Here are some top tips to help you sniff-out your perfect romantic partner...
With smell dating, we are effectively sniffing-out complementary genes in our partners' immune system so that we can have healthy babies. Mating and having healthy babies is crucial to survival, and part of this concerns our sense of smell.
Our personal portfolio of smell receptors will like the body odour of some partners more than others. Body odour is linked to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes, a key part of the immune system that recognises self from non-self. Couples whose HLA-related body odour is too similar are more likely to have difficulties in conceiving. This is real biological perfumery - the mating instinct at the molecular aroma level."
Read more in The Guardian...
Upcoming Valentine's features on The Scented Salamander:
To help you out on Valentine's Day, I will be posting about Perfumes That Smell Unique Because You Are Unique, and deserve nothing less than not to be betrayed by your perfume. If you don't feel unique, those will help you feel the part.
That was an interesting exercise and was inspired to me by the proteian quality of Vanille Galante by Hermès. A contrario, I thought to myself, what are those perfumes that I always recognize on others and have such a strong signature, replete with olfactory integrity? You might be suprised by my choices and I will explain my selection.
Watch also for my continuing series on musk perfumes. And in particular this time, I will be focusing on comparative reviews of MUSK OILS! I have been collecting a number of musk oils from all denominations for several months now and we will see what they have to offer!...
Continue reading "Best Advice for Valentine's Day: Sniff Your Partner {The 5th Sense in the News} - Valentine's Day Recap {Fragrant Readings}" »
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