From Publishers Weekly
Pheromones, according to Kodis and her co-authors, seemingly work in concert with the five senses to influence our decisions to love, hate, marry, take a job, bond with a newborn baby, befriend a neighbor or avoid a co-worker. In an informative, intelligent and humorous fashion, journalists Kodis and Houy and cell biologist Moran explain how "pheromone perception" fits into the complex workings of our daily interactions. Pheromones are odorless molecules processed in humans through the microscopic vomeronasal organ, or VNO, located inside the nose. Not to be confused with scents, pheromonal messages taken into the VNO travel to the hypothalamus in fractions of a second. They are produced in the body and enter the world by wafting off the skin. Sniffing a man's smelly T-shirt may regulate a woman's menstrual cycle and enhance her fertility, we're told. According to the authors, the physical and emotional effects of pheromones not only explain why John loves Mary but why pigs sniff out truffles, orchids attract wasps and ants know their place in the ant hierarchy. Science doesn't fully understand the effects of these elusive,species-specific chemicals, but since their discovery in the 1960s by biotechnologist David Berliner, who contributes a foreword here, the investigation of pheromones has burgeoned into a technology with possibilities as far-reaching as mood elevation, birth and pest control, and the treatment of prostate cancer, anxiety and obesity.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
We often talk about possessing a "sixth sense"--an inexplicable intuition about certain people or situations that later proves to be correct. What if new evidence showed that the sixth sense wasn't so inexplicable after all? Pheromones--a form of chemical communication--have been long known to exist in the animal kingdom, and are one of the strongest forces guiding behavior. Only recently has science discovered the importance of human pheromones, silent messengers providing unconscious clues about the people we come in contact with--from information about our heredity and temperament to our sexual availability. Now, a team of leading pheromone researchers and scientific journalists reveal the primal secrets of our "sixth sense"--how and why it evolved, its effect on our daily lives, and its possible uses in altering mood and behavior. This entertaining book will help you understand your own senses, your reactions to everyday situations, and how to harness the power of this sense to fulfill your total potential.
