The Difference Between Boys & Girls: Its In The Nose

[DeSwiss]

Sex not on the brain, but in the nose: study

Australian Broadcasting Corp.
August 5, 2007

The enormous difference between male and female sexual behaviour may be explained, in animals at least, by a tiny organ in the nose rather than by any gender difference in brain circuitry. So say investigators in the United States, who admit to being stunned by the finding and the implications for the understanding of sexuality.

In a study published by the British journal Nature, the team engineered female lab mice so that the rodents lacked a gene called TRPC2, effectively short-circuiting the so-called vomeronasal organ. This tiny organ in the nose is packed with receptor cells that pick up pheromones - primitive scents that trigger aggression and sexual responses in land-dwelling vertebrates.

To the scientists' surprise, the mutant female mice behaved like men at a Seventies disco night. They sniffed and ran after females, flounced their pelvises, mounted and thrust at male mice, issuing ultrasonic squeaks of the kind that males emit to show lurv. The behaviour was not all-male, though. The engineered mice mated with males in a female-typical manner. And unlike normal males, they did not attack other males.

But when their babies were born, they again became feckless males, insouciant about raising their offspring and keen on having more sex. Usually, female mice spend around 80 per cent of their time in their nest nursing their newborns and while lactating will attack male intruders and reject any attempt at a cuddle. But for the mutant mother mice, it was party time.

Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/06/1997168.htm

*** - Well.... ummmm.... I've never been called insouciant before, although I suppose most men could be characterized this way. The thing is... what I want to know is, what happens when you take this vomeronasal organ thingy out of the male mice? Do they become couch potatoes (or rather, more so)? Or, do they develop a strong desire to take classes in interior design????

[JVS]

1. lurv?

[DeSwiss]

9. I saw that!

Even the reporter couldn't write this article with a straight face.

[BlooInBloo]

2. lol! That's the LAST place I would've ever thought to look for the difference...

... Mebbe that's been my problem lo these many, many years.

[TankLV]

5. I was going to post the same thing...

But who knows nowadays...

[BlooInBloo]

6. Those cwazee scientists. What'll they think up next?

[DeSwiss]

10. You and me both!

In fact, I've been running back through my mind to try and remember the one's with particularly prominent proboscis. Then I have to try and remember who broke up with whom. {I think we could've made beautiful music together. If it weren't for you small vomeronasal organ....}

On second thought, I'll keep the one I got. Because after 30 years, its hard to even see noses without my bi-focals on....

[KT2000]

3. Ha! Who knew!?!?!

OK - so does it matter what the size of the nose is??

[BlooInBloo]

4. Nah - it's how well you smell.

[DeSwiss]

16. Only if you're going to give....

...them a gift of hankies later.

And on that point, do other people still use hankies? I know I do. But I better be careful from now on that I don't blow my vomeronasal organ out with the boogers....

[piesRsquare]

7. This has got to be one of the funniest posts ever...!

The whole darned thing is a DUzy!

"strong desire to take classes in interior design"--:rofl:

[amitten]

8. Maybe I'm reading this wrong. They inhibited the ability to smell

pheromones, and this sent the females in to a sexual frenzy???

Shouldn't that work the other way around?

[DeSwiss]

11. That's a valid point....

...except apparently once the female mice's pheromone detector is gone, they lose all their inhibition and begin to act like males. Who also generally lack inhibition when it comes to matters sexual. So much so...

To the scientists' surprise, the mutant female mice behaved like men at a Seventies disco night. They sniffed and ran after females, flounced their pelvises, mounted and thrust at male mice..."

So it would seem that if it stands still long enough, it'll get mounted if you're a male. Or a female whose vomeronasal organ has been removed. Which raises an earlier point I made: what's the deal with male vomeronasal organs??? Do they have them? And what good is it???

The good part though was this: "And unlike normal males, they did not attack other males." So it would appear that even with the vomeronasal organs gone, female mice act more civilized in thinking that a piece of mouse ass isn't worth fighting over....

[Spinzonner]

17. But what is the (normal) source of the pheromone(s)

that are not being detected ?

And can the effect be calibrated ? That is, can a low ambient supply produce the same result as being unable to detect it and trigger the same behavior ?

If male mice are the source can a low male population trigger a response among the females to become more sexually aggressive ? Higher mating rates in the absence of males might have a survival advantage but the deficient child care would seem to work against whatever gains there might be in breeding rates.

[checks-n-balances]

12. They should re-title it "Of Mice and Men"

That article EXPLAINS A LOT!

[DeSwiss]

14. You're right, it explains a lot.....

...I'm just not sure what the explanation means...

[BlueIris]

13. Okay.

And that's all I've got to say about that.

[DeSwiss]

15. Well it does give new meaning....

...to someone sticking their nose into your business.

Its the best I could do. Sorry.