Study finds proof that humans react to pheromones

The power of smell is undeniable, as the multi-billion dollar perfume industry testifies. But is it possible that humans are influenced by airborne chemicals undetectable as odors, called pheromones?

CNN News

Secret perfume ingredient that may boost your love life

The scent of a women may be the way to a man's heart. "...In a study, researchers found that women who wore perfume laced with synthetic pheromones were asked out on more dates and received more physical affection from their partners. The pheromones acted as a sexual magnet to men..."

Daily Mail

A Secret Sense in the Human Nose: Sniffing Out Social and Sexual Signals

In addition to our sense of smell, do we have the ability to sense certain chemical signals emitted by people around us—without being aware of it? Many other mammals use a separate set of sensory receptor cells in their nose to receive social and sexual information from members of their own species, and there is growing suspicion that we do, too.
 

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

6th Sense Detects Pheromones, University Of Chicago Researchers Show

For the first time, researchers at the University of Chicago have compiled scientific evidence that secret chemical signals we emit called pheromones--which occupy a world apart from sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste--can affect human behavior as well as biology.

Chicago Tribune

Pheromones: Potential participants in your sex life

You've never heard of pheromones? Well, it's time to learn about the part they play in your sex life, because it could be substantial. The concept of a human pheromone, or sexual scent of attraction, has been debated and researched for years.

WebMD - By Deb Levine, M.A

Male Courtship Pheromone Identified -

University researchers have discovered one of the first pheromones in a vertebrate animal species that is produced by the male and helps him when courting a female, in this case making her more calm, receptive to mating and less apt to run away.

Science Daily Oregon State University

Sniffing Out Human Pheromones

Scientists have found long-sought proof that people release potent chemical signals that can have profound effects on other people.  The research settles a 40-year debate about whether humans produce and can respond to "pheromones," molecules that are usually airborne and odorless and which, in other species, influence such physiological processes and behaviors as mate choice, the recognition of one's own family members, and the ability to "smell" the difference between friend and foe.

The Washington Post

Study Finds Signs of Elusive Pheromones in Humans

They may be odorless and colorless and their function may be mysterious, but human pheromones at last have the zest of scientific truth. The experiments offer the first solid proof of the existence of human pheromones, compounds produced by one individual that can influence the biology or behavior of another.

The New York Times

Nailing Down Pheromones in Humans

When biopsychologist Martha K. McClintock documented in 1971 that women living in college dormitories often have synchronized menstrual periods, scientists suspected that chemicals called pheromones were responsible. Animals give off pheromones, which convey messages to others of their species, but scientists have found only sketchy evidence that people do.

Science News

Pheromones in male perspiration reduce women's tension, alter hormone response

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia have found that exposure to male perspiration has marked psychological and physiological effects on women: It can brighten women's moods, reducing tension and increasing relaxation, and also has a direct effect on the release of luteinizing hormone, which affects the length and timing of the menstrual cycle.

University of Pennsylvania