Sniffing

Researchers discover that just like in mice, human tears contain a chemical signal that blocks conspecific male aggression. Credit: SciTechDaily.comExposure to tears led to less revenge-seeking behavior and lower aggression-related brain activity.New research, published on December 21st in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, shows that tears from women contain chemicals that block aggression in men. The study led by Shani Agron at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, finds that sniffing tears leads to reduced…

A fascinating study has found that sniffing female tears significantly reduced male aggression and decreased activity in aggression-related brain networks. It’s suggested that the effect, which is caused by chemical signals in tears and is also seen in rodents, serves a protective function.Charles Darwin was perplexed by emotional tears; he thought they served no useful purpose other than lubricating the eye. Although shedding emotional tears is thought to be a solely human trait, since Darwin, researchers have found that…

December 21, 20234min readFor the first time, researchers have used behavioral measures, brain imaging and molecular biology to test how odorless chemicals from human tears affect peopleBy Rachel Nuwer When someone starts to cry, other people oftentimes feel empathy and concern. But the biological reasons for shedding tears can extend beyond merely prompting a sense of compassion. The tears themselves appear to take on a role as a chemical peacemaker between men and women, new research has discovered.Women’s tears act to…

An artist’s rendering of the warm exoplanet WASP-80 b whose color may appear bluish to human eyes due to the lack of high-altitude clouds and the presence of atmospheric methane identified by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, similar to the planets Uranus and Neptune in our own solar system. Credit: NASANASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has detected methane in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-80 b, a milestone in space exploration. This discovery, confirmed through advanced light analysis methods, sheds light on the…

There's a harsh, brutal reality to the poultry industry, which in 2021 alone supplied about 286 eggs per person in a growing US population: Billions of male chicks are routinely culled by being crushed alive or gassed at hen hatcheries worldwide.Chick culling arises from the fact that chicks from egg-laying hens are not typically used for meat production, leading to the annual culling of about 7 billion male chicks one day old.Although some countries are stamping out these practices, scientists are also working to…

A person's nose could play an important role in their sex life, according to a new international study.In China, India, and the United States, researchers found young individuals who tend to sniff out the scent of others are more sexually motivated.In surveys, participants who placed more importance on their sense of smell were also more likely to report stronger sexual desires.These findings were consistent across both sexes and all three cultures.Of course, this doesn't mean there weren't sexual and cultural…