Since Valentine’s Day is upon us, I thought I would contribute something from Jena Pincott’s book, Do Gentleman Really Prefer Blondes? Not only is this book highly entertaining, but it also presents the science behind sex, love and attraction by explaining about how bodies, behavior, and brains interact.

By Jena Pincott, 2008

For instance, in a smelly t-shirt study, women were asked to smell a variety of shirts that had been worn by men for several days. Over this time period, the men were not allowed to use deodorant or cologne, eat anything too potent, or engage in sex, smoking or drinking. As the women smelled these shirts, researchers found that the women tended to prefer men with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene variants that were largely different from their own.

As it turns out, a difference in MHC actually means a difference in what bacteria and viruses your body is able to identify. This attraction to different MHC gene variants is a method of survival because your children will likely have a stronger immune system if you combine two drastically different MHC. Who knew your attraction to his natural smell comes from survival of the fittest?