So, Do Humans Have Pheromones Too?

Let's be honest, we all stink. But what if our body odor also contains pheromones that could make a simply irresistible to all the single ladies and gentlemen? Pheromone cologne dealers want you to believe that that's the case and they may not be totally wrong.

Our love affair with pheromones dates back to 1959. That's when German scientists discovered the first pheromone bombykol, produced by Silk Moss. When a female moth releases bombykol, any male in sniffing distance makes a beeline for the lady and gets down to business.

Scientists have since uncovered pheromones in fish, mice, frogs, dogs, snakes, sheep, deer, rabbits, spiders, lobsters, and elephants to name a few in animals. Pheromones can communicate all sorts of useful information like gender and fertility status, and they can elicit all sorts of interesting behaviors such as attraction, aggression, swarming, and of course, sex.

So, Do Humans Have Pheromones Too?

Given their ubiquity in the animal kingdom, you'd think humans would have fair amounts to, especially since most of our body odor appears at puberty. Learn more at http://astrobiosociety.org.  While they have tried hard, scientists haven't yet been able to identify any chemicals that are human pheromones. Just because scientists haven't found human pheromones doesn't mean they don't exist. There's plenty of evidence that suggests we unconsciously send out chemical cues.

For example, researchers have found that when men smell woman's tears, it can reduce their testosterone levels and some do feelings of arousal. Other scientists have found that extracts of sweat for men's underarms trigger a rush of a gluten-free hormone, a protein that triggers ovulation in women. And then there's research showing lap dancers get better tips when they're waiting.
But here is the catch. Despite these clearly defined outcomes, scientists weren't able to pluck out the precise molecule or molecules causing these effects from the pool of hundreds of chemicals floating off of us. Until these chemicals are isolated and identified, the question whether there's a human pheromone will remain controversial, which brings us to the Internet.

There is an abundance of snake oil pedlars who sell human pheromone products. They are typically colognes that promise romance if you can get the target of your affections into sniffing distance. Some of the more sciencey sounding entrepreneurs claim that their pheromones contain androstenol or androsterone. Although these chemicals have been detected in human armpits, researchers have found no conclusive evidence that they are actually human pheromones. Just being secreted by an organism, say from the armpits, doesn't make a molecule a pheromone.

That molecule also has to influence or communicate information to other members of the species. But guess what. Androsterone and androstenol are a pig and wild boar sex pheromones. So anyone gullible enough to where these products may attract a lover, just one from a different species. Learn more at http://anatomist.info

Conclusion

There have been other notable human pheromone failures. Back in the nineties, a fragrance company called Erox announced research, suggesting that the molecules Androstadienone and  Estratetraenol we're human pheromones detected by the human vomeronasal. Although this organ senses pheromones in mice and some other mammals, it's vestigial in humans.

So it's there, but we stopped using it a while back in our evolution. The Human VNO doesn't even connect to the brain. It makes you wonder if humans used to rely on pheromones to attract a mate but moved on to cheesy pick-up lines instead. Or perhaps like many aspects of love and sex our reliance on pheromone is subtle and /or complicated. Learn more at http://pheromones-work.weebly.com