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This Just In: People Smell

Posted by timothy on from the nasal-gazing dept.

SAPHRguru writes "New Scientist reports (10 Nov) that researchers may have taken a big step towards solving the mystery of how humans detect pheromones... we do it through our noses! Strange, I always thought I responded to chemical cues through my mouth (especially in brownies)!"

9 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Brownies? by joey+shabadu · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is he talking about *special* brownies?

  2. No VMO in humans? by nlh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Ok, I'm confused. According to the article:

    ...scientists have never been able to identify a VMO in humans, despite evidence that they do respond to pheromones.

    But that doesn't sound right. Believe it or not, I actually wrote a paper for my freshman psychology class back in Fall '96 on the effect of human pheromones and the VMO. At that time, at least, it was fairly well known that the VMO did indeed exist in humans, and that even its location in the human body was known (See this and this, for example).

    So when did it vanish from scientific literature, or was its existence called into question?

    --
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    1. Re:No VMO in humans? by Alsee · · Score: 3, Funny

      So when did it vanish

      Damnit damnit damnit!

      You travel 42,000 light years, you abduct a sample life form in stasis, you spend over a year constructing a simulated enviornment, you fill that enviornment with a bunch of simulated life forms, and some third-rate contractor leaves out the damn VMOs!

      -

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      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
    2. Re:No VMO in humans? by SEE · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yeah, New Scientist made a hash of it.

      Humans have a VNO, but whether it works or not is a disputed question; there's both physiological and genetic reasons to believe that it's vestigial in humans, and possibly apes and Old World monkeys. If it is, then pheremones, which we know affect humans, must be detected by another system.

      So what the researchers in this case did was see if pheremones could cause reactions in the main olfactory system of mice. If they did (and they did), it explains how humans can be affected by pheremones despite a possibly vestigial VNO.

    3. Re:No VMO in humans? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative
      From the two links:

      These morphologic findings, which are unique in the human body, suggest that a chemosensory epithelium corresponding to a vomeronasal organ may exist


      There is no evidence for true vomeronasal sensory nerves connecting the organ to the brain.


      So, according to your links, people believed that it maybe exists (or maybe not), but probably doesn't connect to the brain. If people respond to pheromones, then either they must perceive them by a different route, or there must be nerves that have been overlooked. Either would be important news.
  3. This is a MOUSE STUDY!!! by GuyMannDude · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Guys, relax. The article clearly states that this study was done on MICE and not HUMANS!! They're just making a guess that people detect pheromones through their nose, too -- they don't know this.

    Talk about jumping the gun...

    GMD

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  4. Urine as a social signal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The team is now trying to determine how the process may work in humans. "But we don't generally use urine as a social signal," notes Katz.

    Hey, speak for yourself, Professor Science! I find pissing in the direction of someone I don't like to be much easier and cleaner than flinging my feces at them and it gets the point across just as effectively!

  5. Anosmia? by robson · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Are pheromones delivered through the *exact same* sensory mechanism as smell, or do they diverge into separate paths at some point?

    I ask because I have congenital anosmia -- no sense of smell. None. What I want to know is whether I'm still picking up on the subtle messages delivered by pheromones.

  6. The really sad part about the article... by tuxedobob · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...is that they only quote one doctor.

    That quote is at the end of the article.

    The doctor tells us, "But we don't generally use urine as a social signal."

    They didn't get anything else they could print?