Pheromones

The air is loaded with secrets, with intimate messages both unseen and unheard. Ready! A female moth announces, and male moths miles away soon receive the invitation and head upwind, eager to mate.

In creatures as different as bugs and dogs, life-and-death messages are relayed via specialized chemicals known as pheromones - substances that works much like a hormone, but is released by one individual and prompts changes in the physiology or behavior of another.

Ever since scientists discovered pheromones 30 years ago, they’ve found such chemical communication in hundreds of species - from moths to mice to monkeys. And man? Do we, the great communicators, also make use of such potent and unambiguous signals? Is there literal truth to the notion that when people get along, it is because of the right "chemistry"?

As a biology student, Ive always been intrigued by the concept of pheromone particularly in the context of human interactions. I can vouch from personal experience that the sense of smell can have profound effects on behaviour... try travelling on a bombay local during rush hour on a hot summer day, and you'll see what I mean !

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?

Here's my take :

There was this guy I used to have bit of a crush on who had this amazingly sexy cologne. He used to smoke like a chimney, and I'm a strong advocate against smoking and can't stand cigarette smoke; but as a result, he used to wear a curious mixture of cologne and cigarette smoke that I found really sexy. It used to irritate me that I could like anything with cigarette smoke associated with it, but the heart wants what it wants ! Just being close to him and inhaling that scent used to make my skin tingle.

Well anyway, I thought I said goodbye to all that when I left Bombay, but apparently not. There's this guy in my class ( not a partcularly attractive guy : taklu, skinny...kinda looks like Moby ) who wears the same cologne and he always enters late and lands up sitting next to me. And its majorly majorly distracting. I mean, the lecture's pretty dry as it is, on top of that you have these li'l molecules coming along and clouding your sense; hell, hows a girl supposed to concentrate on her studies ?!

So the scientists can speculate and argue all they want, I'm pretty sure human pheromones do exist. The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.