Pheromone News and Research

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Fruit flies' pheromones reveal sexual attractiveness of females

Life as a fruit fly seems pretty simple: Hatch, grow, eat some fruit, find a mate, produce hundreds of tiny offspring and die -- all in a month or so.

18 Aug 2017

Duke researchers map evolution of sex chromosomes in fungus linked to human disease

Biologically speaking, nearly every species on Earth has two opposite sexes, male and female. But with some fungi and other microbes, sex can be a lot more complicated.

11 Aug 2017

Japanese scientists show how male pheromone enhances female sexual behavior in mice

A study by a group of Japanese scientists showed how a male pheromone in mice enhances sexual behaviors in females--and how it may enhance a different behavior, aggression, in males -- by identifying distinct neural circuits and neurons that generate a particular behavioral response to specific chemical signals.

22 Jun 2017

Males may play positive role in development of offspring's brains before pregnancy

A new study from Indiana University provides evidence in mice that males may play a positive role in the development of offspring's brains starting before pregnancy.

1 Jul 2015

Hedione scent generates sex-specific activation patterns in brain

The question if humans can communicate via pheromones in the same way as animals is under debate. Cell physiologists at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum have demonstrated that the odorous substance Hedione activates the putative pheromone receptor VN1R1, which occurs in the human olfactory epithelium.

10 Apr 2015

UC team to set off on research expedition funded by National Science Foundation

A University of Cincinnati team is about to set off on a National Science Foundation-funded research expedition in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

5 Jun 2014

Ant colonies can give evacuees better chance of reaching safe harbor after natural disaster

An escape route mapping system based on the behavior of ant colonies could give evacuees a better chance of reaching safe harbor after a natural disaster or terrorist attack by building a map of showing the shortest routes to shelters and providing regular updates of current situations such as fires, blocked roads or other damage via the smart phones of emergency workers and those caught up in the disaster.

17 Apr 2014

CSP analogues may attenuate S. pneumoniae virulence, resistance

The spread of virulent, antibiotic-resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae may be controllable through the use of competence-stimulating peptide analogues, US researchers believe.

24 Mar 2014

Potential pathway for drug development using photoreactions

For chemists, natural substances are compounds formed by organisms to fulfill the myriad biological functions. This biological activity makes them very interesting for industrial applications, for example as active agents in medication or as plant protection agents.

18 Dec 2013

Fruit fly study shows how sex may be one of the secrets to good health and longer life

Sex may in fact be one of the secrets to good health, youth and a longer life - at least for fruit flies - suggests a new University of Michigan study that appears in the journal Science.

30 Nov 2013

Male roundworms shorten the lifespan of females, say Stanford researchers

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that males of the laboratory roundworm secrete signaling molecules that significantly shorten the lifespan of the opposite sex.

29 Nov 2013

Wisconsin scientists synthesize potent compounds to curb bacteria that cause staph infections

In an age when microbial pathogens are growing increasingly resistant to the conventional antibiotics used to tamp down infection, a team of Wisconsin scientists has synthesized a potent new class of compounds capable of curbing the bacteria that cause staph infections.

24 May 2013

Keystone molecules in chemical communication, defense have dominant consequences in nature

Naturally occurring "keystone" molecules that have powerful behavioral effects on diverse organisms often play large but unrecognized roles in structuring ecosystems, according to a theory proposed in the June issue of BioScience.

20 May 2013

Study: Neural-crest stem cells also play a key role in building olfactory sensory neurons

When our noses pick up a scent, whether the aroma of a sweet rose or the sweat of a stranger at the gym, two types of sensory neurons are at work in sensing that odor or pheromone.

26 Mar 2013

Iridoid synthase can make powerful chemicals from catnip to vinblastine

Scientists have discovered an enzyme used in nature to make powerful chemicals from catnip to a cancer drug, vinblastine. The discovery opens up the prospect of producing these chemicals cheaply and efficiently.

22 Nov 2012

Biologists solve long-standing scientific mystery of how mice first know to nurse or suckle

A team led by biologists at The Scripps Research Institute has solved the long-standing scientific mystery of how mice first know to nurse or suckle.

5 Oct 2012

Newborn mice use mum's unique odour to begin breastfeeding

Researchers show for the first time that a mammal begins to suckle its mother's milk through a learned response built on learning her unique combination of smells. When it is born, the newborn is exposed to the smell of its mother's amniotic fluid and the baby then responds to those smells to feed.

5 Oct 2012

TAU researcher reveals link between plant and human biology

Increasingly, scientists are uncovering surprising biological connections between humans and other forms of life. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher has revealed that plant and human biology is much closer than has ever been understood - and the study of these similarities could uncover the biological basis of diseases like cancer as well as other "animal" behaviors.

31 Jul 2012

Study extends scientific understanding of how pheromones activate the vomeronasal organ

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is one of evolution's most direct enforcers. From its niche within the nose in most land-based vertebrates, it detects pheromones and triggers corresponding basic-instinct behaviors, from compulsive mating to male-on-male death matches. A new study from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, published online in Nature Neuroscience on July 29, 2012, extends the scientific understanding of how pheromones activate the VNO, and has implications for sensory transduction experiments in other fields.

30 Jul 2012

First study to ever quantify effects of estrogen as a stimulant of pheromones

A new study has shown that boosting the estrogen levels of male garter snakes causes them to secrete the same pheromones that females use to attract suitors, and turned the males into just about the sexiest snake in the neighborhood - attracting dozens of other males eager to mate.

13 Feb 2012