ScienceDaily (Jun. 21, 2007) — The coming summer vibrates with expressions of insect love and desire. The cicada’s songs or the butterflies’ bright colours are examples of how an emitting sex attracts conspecific members of the responding sex. Moth odours (pheromones), though less conspicuous for us humans, are also signals by which females guide males towards them, even on the darkest nights. Such mating recognition systems tend to be very specific, hence they are thought to play a major role in the evolution of mating barriers and in the formation of new species.

The fact that conspecific males and females recognize each other by their common use of a highly specific “language” is likely to decrease the fitness of mutants that might use slightly different signals. Such “atypical” individuals would either – and most probably – die without leaving any offspring, or – in the unlikely event that they find a mutant partner – they might found a new line that may eventually become a new species. As such, the offspring of such parents would inherit the mutant communication system of their parents, which could “spark” the divergence leading to the formation of a new species.

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The final one is all about Isabella.

Translation by skuldnoshinpu (Echang)
Video by Master LL

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This 3rd one is my overall favorite of the Pheromone Bombers Series.. gotta love the cast.

Translation by skuldnoshinpu (Echang)
Video by Master LL

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It is Valentine’s Day, yet again! It is that yearly phase when the air is charged with the aroma of roses. Even as we usher in this ‘Lover’s day’, lets take a peek at the facts that make it special.

Legends are aplenty on the origin(s) of Valentine’s Day. One theory asserts that Valentine was a young priest devoted to uniting distanced lovers. Another belief describes Valentine as a victim of tragic love, who signed his love letter, ‘From your Valentine’! This was the first recorded valentine card, and the phrase is put to good use even today. The validity of these stories is shrouded in mystery, but the young priest’s romantic bravado carried an universal appeal that continues to charm lovers even today!

Many claim that love cannot be confined to a calendar date. Love, for these claimants, flows freely in bountiful supply! Others, however, argue that there is a need to dedicate a day to pamper ‘that special someone’ exclusively. Valentine’s day, which is an integrated part of the European tradition, has caused youthful hearts to throb in many an Asian metro. In India, adolescent boys and girls step beyond their monetary means in an effort to woo and to win. Some of them choose this day to mollify a miffed sweetheart. Passion is engulfed by consumerism as pricey gifts are exchanged. Many young lovers suffer from ‘a -hole-in-the- wallet’ syndrome, which often takes days to recover!

There are ‘wet blankets’ too doing the rounds to douse the flames of youthful vigor. The ‘moral police’ work overtime to curb the pheromone spill in public places. Although bawdiness is not welcome in a civil society, it is important not to infringe upon a person’s right to express his/her feelings, as long as it is consensual and not a public eye sore.

‘Love and Let Others Love’ should be the punch line for this year’s Valentine’s Day. For after all it would be apt to remember that, ‘To Love is to Live’!

Source-Medindia
Dr. REEJA THARU/M

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The second meeting with the extravagant Pheromone Bombers (Bantam Bouncers) from Tales of Legendia.

Translation by skuldnoshinpu (Echang)
Video by Master LL

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Back by fans’ requests! The almighty Pheromone Bombers are back for singing action from Tales of Legendia (Jpn)!

Softsub video version avaliable to download on my website.

Translation by skuldnoshinpu (Echang)
Video by Master LL

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Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.
George Preti, Charles J. Wysocki, Kurt T. Barnhart, Steven J. Sondheimer, and James J. Leyden

Human underarm secretions, when applied to women recipients, alter the length and timing of the menstrual cycle. These effects are thought to arise from exposure to primer pheromones that are produced in the underarm. Pheromones can affect endocrine (primer) or behavioral (releaser) responses, provide information (signaler), or perhaps even modify emotion or mood (modulator).

In this study, we extracted underarm secretions from pads worn by men and placed the extract under the nose of women volunteers while monitoring serum LH and emotion/mood. Pulses of LH are excellent indicators of the release of GnRH from the brain’s hypothalamus. In women, the positive influence of GnRH on LH affects the length and timing of the menstrual cycle, which, in turn, affects fertility. Here we show that extracts of male axillary secretions have a direct effect upon LH-pulsing and mood of women. In our subjects, the putative male pheromone(s) advanced the onset of the next peak of LH after its application, reduced tension, and increased relaxation.

These results demonstrate that male axillary secretions contain one or more constituents that act as primer and modulator pheromones.

Full Text: http://www.biolreprod.org/cgi/content/full/68/6/2107

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(Lake Worth, Fla.) — A study from two researchers in New Zealand theorized that a mother’s stress, mood disorders, or divorce may be related to their daughters’ earlier puberty. When they looked at 87 girls and their mothers, 67 of whom had mood disorders, their theory seemed sound.

While the study, which appears in the March/April issue of the journal Child Development, shows a correlation between mothers with mood disorders and their daughters’ earlier puberty, Bruce J. Ellis, PhD, one of the researchers, says that a direct cause and effect relationship cannot be shown.

“Both marital and family dysfunction and early pubertal timing in daughters may be caused by common underlying genetic factors,” he tells WebMD. Ellis is a lecturer in psychology at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

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Breast Chemical: Sexual Desire Secret?

Breastfeeding mothers and their babies produce a chemical that can boost other women’s sexual desire, new research shows.

It’s a natural phenomenon found in animals — the production of chemicals called pheromones that regulate all sorts of reproductive behaviors and processes in other females, and possibly sexual desire, writes researcher Natasha A. Spencer, PhD, with The Institute for Mind and Biology at The University of Chicago.

The presence of women who are breastfeeding may be a signal to fertile women that they, too, support the demands of pregnancy and lactation, writes the author.

In a previous study, Spencer and colleagues reported that fertile women were dramatically affected — specifically a women’s period and the timing of ovulation was changed when exposed to these pheromones, she says.

But what about the women’s sexual desire and fantasies — the true measures of their motivation for sex? Will her partner benefit from her lust? If she has no partner, will she conjure up one through fantasy? That’s what Spencer’s study checked out.

Pheromones Trigger Sex Drive, Fantasies
In their study, Spencer and her research group collected the natural “breastfeeding compounds” from 26 mothers who wore pads in their nursing bras, where the saliva from their infants plus their own perspiration and milk was collected. They also wore underarm pads to collect perspiration.

The breastfeeding pads were then cut into pieces and frozen.

Then, 90 women between ages 18 and 35 — none of whom had given birth — were assigned to either the breastfeeding pads or a placebo pads group. They were asked to swipe the pads under their noses in the morning, at night, and when they wiped their upper lips, showered, or exercised during the day.

The women also tracked their lust; those with a sexual partner rated their sexual desire; they also recorded their sexual activity. Those without sexual partner recorded their moods and whether they had any sexual fantasies.

After two months of smelling pheromones from the breastfeeding mothers, women with regular partners showed a 24% increase in sexual desire, and women without partners had a 17% increase in sexual fantasies, she reports.

Among women who got placebo pads, those with partners had a slight decrease in sexual desire. Women without partners had a 28% decrease in fantasies.

“The effect became striking during the last half of the menstrual cycle after ovulation, when sexual [desire] normally declines,” says co-researcher Martha McClintock, PhD, a Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology at The University of Chicago, in a news release.

The phenomenon likely evolved in early primitive societies, when women produced children during times when food was plentiful. The pheromones would have been a way of encouraging other women to reproduce during this plentiful time.

In 1998, McClintock and her colleagues produced the first evidence of human pheromones. However, more research is needed to determine if the breastfeeding chemicals are indeed pheromones that trigger sexual desire, she adds.

Their paper on sexual desire appears in this month’s issue of the journal Hormones and Behavior.

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Human Pheromones:
Integrating Neuroendocrinology and Ethology

James V. Kohl, Michaela Atzmueller, Bernhard Fink & Karl Grammer

Key words: human ethology; pheromones, odor; olfaction; human sexuality; sexual selection; mate choice

Abstract

The effect of sensory input on hormones is essential to any explanation of mammalian behavior, including aspects of physical attraction. The chemical signals we send have direct and developmental effects on hormone levels in other people. Since we don‘t know either if, or how, visual cues might have direct and developmental effects on hormone levels in other people, the biological basis for the development of visually perceived human physical attraction is currently somewhat questionable. In contrast, the biological basis for the development of physical attraction based on chemical signals is well detailed.

Content

• The human sense of smell
• The vomeronasal organ
• Pheromones
• Human body odor
• Human pheromones
• Do pheromones influence human behavior?
• Pheromones and the battle of the sexes
• Pheromones as honest signals in mate selection
• Conclusion

This is an interesting and complete article about the pheromones. What says science? well here we have a contundent answer.

Read the full article here:  Full text

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Pheromones, those mysterious, scentless chemicals that some say drive human sexual behavior, have been studied for decades. But now researchers say they’ve finally found proof that mammals — such as humans and mice — are actually programmed to detect and use them.

A new study, published in the Sept. 5 issue of the journal Nature, shows the first real evidence that the nervous system of mice is wired to detect pheromones. And when that wiring is tampered with, their mating behavior is disrupted.

Researchers say mice contain pheromone receptors in a specialized organ in the smelling system of the body.

In their study, researchers at The Rockefeller University and the University of Maryland found that when these pheromone receptors were turned off through genetic mutation, the mice developed normally but were different in terms of aggression and sexual activity. The study authors say these differences might yield clues about pheromones’ role in influencing sexual behavior and species development.

For example, nursing female mice are normally aggressive toward other mice that invade their nest. But nursing mice without the pheromone receptors were less aggressive and slower to attack invaders.

Among male mice, researchers found several differences between the normal and genetically altered mice.

Sometimes, young, socially inexperienced mice exhibit sexual behavior toward other males until they learn to distinguish males from females. But the mutant males made fewer sexual advances toward males. Researchers say this could indicate that either the mutants are better at distinguishing between the sexes at an early age, or their overall sexual drive is reduced without the ability to detect pheromones.

In addition, mutant male mice tended to mount female mice fewer times than would otherwise be expected.

According to the authors, the existence of a functioning specialized pheromone organ in humans has been widely debated, and the role of pheromones in human behavior has yet to be clearly understood.

But since a functional role for this organ has now been shown in mice through genetic manipulation, they say the findings should stimulate more research into the counterparts of these genes in humans.

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What do you get when you combine a smart bartender, a gullible drunk, and his terminally-blonde girlfriend?

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Switching Gene in Fruit Flies Makes Females Flirt Like Males

Flipping the switch on a single gene may be enough to turn a coy female fruit fly into a crooning Casanova, according to a new study.

Researchers found that altering a single gene in female fruit flies caused their sexual behavior to change and resemble that of males.

“In these experiments we see all the steps of the male courtship ritual you could physically expect a female fly to do,” says researcher Bruce S. Baker, professor of biology at Stanford University, in a news release. “It’s a male’s behavioral circuitry in a female body.”

Researchers say the results suggest that sexual behaviors that seemingly develop over time, like flirting and courtship rituals in flies and potentially in humans, may also have biological and genetic underpinnings.

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 08 – Lesbian women appear to process two putative pheromones in a manner that more closely resembles heterosexual males than heterosexual females, according to findings documented by positron emission tomography (PET) and MRI imaging during exposure to the agents, Swedish investigators report.

Dr. Ivanka Savic and her associates at the Karolinska University Hospital performed PET and MRI as subjects were smelling the progesterone derivative 4,16-androstadien-3-one (AND), which is found in human sweat at concentrations 10 times as high in men than in women, and the estrogen-like steroid estra-1,3,5(10),16-tetraen-3-ol (EST), which is detected in the urine of pregnant women.

The research team previously found that homosexual men responded more like heterosexual women than heterosexual men in PET scans of regional cerebral blood flow when smelling the two pheromones.

Areas of the preoptic and ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei were activated among homosexual men when smelling AND, a “pattern of activation that was reciprocal in heterosexual men.” Homosexual men responded to EST with activated olfactory regions, similar to reactions observed in heterosexual women.

For their current study, published in the May 8 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Savic’s group performed PET and MRI for 12 lesbian women, 12 heterosexual women, and 12 heterosexual men as they smelled each of the two pheromones, odorless air, and four other ordinary odors.

The main finding was that “lesbian women differed from heterosexual women in that they did not activate the preoptic hypothalamus with AND.” The researchers also found that “lesbian women processed AND and EST more congruently with heterosexual men than heterosexual women.”

The lesbian women showed activation of the olfactory regions with both AND and EST, whereas among heterosexual women, only EST involved the olfactory regions, while AND showed activation of the preoptic hypothalamus.

Lesbians also exhibited partial activation of the anterior hypothalamus upon exposure to EST, which is the area of primary activation when heterosexual men smell EST.

None of the other odors exhibited differential activation in any of the study groups.

Dr. Savic’s team concludes: “The data support the notion of a coupling between hypothalamic neuronal circuits and sexual preferences and encourage further evaluation of the possible neurobiology of homosexuality and human sexuality in general.”

Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2006

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No Sex for Males Without Taste

For the first time, researchers have linked a specific sex behavior to a female insect pheromone.

If you haven’t yet heard of pheromones, rest assured that the perfume industry has. Pheromones are chemical signals exuded by many animals — including humans — that evoke behavior. Sexual behavior.

The trouble is, nobody is quite sure which pheromones do what. That is fast changing, although not as fast as some Internet perfume ads would have you believe. Why? Human sexual behavior is so complex that it’s hard to tease out one sex signal from another.

Fruit flies are a lot easier to understand. So Hubert Amrein, PhD, and colleague Steven Bray started there. They took a close look at fruit-fly mating behavior. It’s got six steps — and they have to be danced in exact order, although repetitions are allowed:

1. The male finds a female and gets into the right position to begin the mating ritual.
2. Using his front two legs, the male taps the female on the abdomen.
3. The male sings a courting song to the female by buzzing his wings.
4. The male licks the female.
5. The male curls his abdomen in a mounting attempt.
6. The male succeeds in mounting and copulation occurs.

Then, Amrein and Bray took a closer look. Fruit flies, they knew, have taste buds on their legs. When they analyzed those taste buds, they found that the flies’ front legs had special taste buds. They acted as receptors for female insect pheromones. This means that when they taste the female insect pheromone, they send a chemical signal to the brain.

The researchers found the gene responsible for the special front-leg pheromone taste buds. Then they raised male fruit flies that lacked the gene. This meant they had no pheromone tasters on their legs.

The tasteless males tried to have sex. But when they got to step 2 — tapping the female’s abdomen — they stalled out. Unable to taste the female insect pheromone, they didn’t know to when to sing their mating song. They kept trying, but kept failing. Eventually, the females got bored and flew away.

What does this mean? It’s a sign that researchers are a step closer to decoding the chemical signals that make us want to act in certain ways. Perfume makers, stay tuned.

The findings appear in the Sept. 11 issue of Neuron.

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