Female Mice Only Smell Male Pheromones When Ready To Mate
Friday, June 12, 2015 - 22:30
in Biology & Nature
A study in mice reveals that hormones that dictate a female's attraction towards males do so in part by controlling her sense of smell. The investigators analyzed female mice at various stages of the ovulation cycle and found that when a female is not ready for reproduction, her hormones (specifically progesterone) block her ability to sense the smell of male pheromones. These hormones diminish during ovulation, eventually allowing a female mouse to smell a potential partner. When ovulation ends, the cycle repeats, and she is again rendered "odor-blind" to males. read more