A new study apparently shows that the birth control pill messes with a woman’s pheromone recognition process, making her more likely to be attracted to men who are genetically similar to her. That’s a bad thing — broad genetic diversity minimizes nature’s “mistakes,” and children resulting from parents with similar genes are more likely to have genetic defects. As well, the couples are more likely to have miscarriages or difficulty conceiving.
It also explains why inbreeding is illegal, and why royal families are so funny-looking.
The Guardian reports from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Sketchy-Sounding Research:
Researchers asked 100 women to sniff six male body odour samples from 97 volunteers and say which they preferred, with tests carried out both before and after the women had started taking the pill.
“The results showed that the preferences of women who began using the contraceptive pill shifted towards men with genetically similar odours,” the University of Liverpool’s Dr Craig Roberts, who led the study, said.
“Not only could MHC similarity in couples lead to fertility problems, it could also ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the contraceptive pill, as odour perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners.”
Image via The Snitch.
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