Latest Pheromone Stories

Rodent olfaction and the chemistry of instinctThe mechanics of instinctive behavior are mysterious. Even something as simple as the question of how a mouse can use its powerful sense of smell to detect and evade predators, including species it has never met before, has been almost totally unknown at the molecular level until now.David Ferrero and Stephen Liberles, neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School, have discovered a single compound found in high concentrations in the urine of...

Rather than count sheep, drink warm milk or listen to soothing music, many insomniacs probably wish for a switch they could flick to put themselves to sleep.Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered such a switch in the brains of fruit flies. In a study appearing June 24 in Science, the researchers show that a group of approximately 20 cells in the brains of fruit flies controls when and how long the flies sleep. Slumber induced through this sleep...

Revelation sheds light on our most ancient senseResearchers seeking to unravel the most ancient yet least understood of the five senses "“ smell "“ have discovered a previously unknown step in how odors are detected and processed by the brain.The four year study, focusing on how mice respond to odors, showed that smells are picked up by the olfactory bulb "“ the first stop on the way to the brain "“ then sent to the olfactory cortex for further analysis.But scientists discovered...

The success of a fungal pathogen in becoming a persistent and opportunistic source of infection in human beings may be due to a mating strategy that can best be described as "don't be too choosy." A new Brown University study finds that Candida albicans will respond to the pheromones of several different species, not just its own, and if an opposite-sex partner isn't around, it can switch over to same-sex mating. In affairs of DNA exchange "” for the yeast has no heart "”...

A chemical signal released in the tears of a crying woman may temporarily lower a man's testosterone level if he is within sniffing range of the tears, even though there is no noticeable odor given off, according to researchers from Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science and the Wolfson Hospital near Tel Aviv. It is the first such signal researchers have found in human tears, and it's probably not unique to just women's. Theirs were just the first to be studied. "It's hard to get men to...

Pity the poor female fruit fly. Being a looker is simply not enough, it seems. If you're to get a date, much less a proposal, you must also smell and act like a girl. Otherwise, you might just have a fight on your hands. Read more in next week's issue of the online, open access journal PLoS Biology.As with most animals, Drosophila face the problem of distinguishing between a potential mate and a potential competitor. If, when meeting a second fruit fly, a male fly thinks "female,"...

Be the center of attention all day...and all night! Los Angeles, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) November 16, 2010 Booty Parlor, the beauty parlor for your love life, is pleased to announce the launch of its newest attraction agent: Flirty Little Secret Perfume Oil with Pheromones. The provocative, alcohol-free fragrance is petite and portable, so you can apply it anywhere, any time you want to be in the spotlight. It makes you feel alluring, and boosts your sexy self-confidence! "Everything about...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- After women exercise, they generally glow with radiance.  On the other hand, after men exercise, they usually look like he just got out of the pool.  A recent study in Japan looks at the differences between men and women's response to changes in exercise intensity and how men are more effective sweaters in those regards.  Regardless of the difference between sexes, researchers say women 'shouldn't sweat it.'Researchers that Osaka University and Kobe University...

Male bedbugs are known to be very unfussy when it comes to mating, mounting any well-fed bug they can see - regardless of age or gender. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology have discovered how immature bedbug nymphs, who would be harmed by the traumatic insemination technique practiced by the males, release alarm pheromones to deter this unwanted attention.Vincent Harraca, from Lund University, Sweden, worked with a team of researchers to stage encounters between males...

Sex pheromone production in European corn borer races explored -- tracking the origin of new speciesThe coming of summer brings promise for humans and insects alike. The farmer planted maize for a bountiful harvest, but the European Corn Borer (ECB) is looking for a good meal right away. The caterpillars of this pest bore deep into the maize stems, where they eat the inner pith causing the weakened stalks to fall over before the ears can ripen. As if one pest were not bad enough, there are...