Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are involved in immune response and other functions, and the best mates are those that have different MHC smells than you. The new study reveals, however, that when women are on the pill they prefer guys with matching MHC odors.it goes on to say that the pill causes a woman to be pregnant, hormonally, thus basically putting her in a "post-mating" state.
gaaa--freaking--rate! not only am i 30 and dropping off the deceased members of what's left of my egg family monthly, now i can't even sniff out the right man because i want shorter, lighter periods, and better skin!?
in all seriousness, we all learned from paula and the cool cat years ago that opposites attract, so we shouldn't be too surprised to learn that. i guess we are now left to decide which is more important to us: a satisfying relationship with less wandering eyes and offspring who are more fit, or better skin, less monthly emotional imbalance and milder cramps (oh. and pregnancy. sometimes i forget people are having sex).
i'm leaning towards the latter, but i'll get back to you.
4 comments:
Yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about the MHC smells. Look how many people are finding their true love online and don't even meet before aranging the marriage. They may be MHC incompatible, but that didn't matter to them. What mattered to them is that the picture they posted had nice skin...
but maybe birth control is a new evolutionary adaptation. maybe blocking mhc will create better offspring. offspring capable of surviving in a post-global warming world.
i think you're onto something. only i think it's opposite. those who take birth control will continue to produce weaker and weaker offspring until they die out.
wait. i don't know if this theory works. you can't keep BC in the family
but with the changes in the ecosystem, what worked well in the past probably wont work well in the future. our only hope for survival is some kind of evolutionary mutation. i'm guessing it'll be some sort of cyborgian mutation where we incorporate (probably accidentally) some technological aspects into our biology.
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