What Body Odor Says about your Health

A recent study shows that our body odor may hold clues about how healthy we are. According to scientists who will conduct a speed dating night during the Edinburgh International Science Festival, they'll explore sensory perception and how it affects attraction as well as overall health.

"Everyone thinks of love at first sight but there are so many other senses involved, and smell is one of the most powerful. We are doing a session of sensory speed dating. We test how smell and sound are involved," said zoologist Dr. Zoe Cromier, via The Daily Mail. "People will be blindfolded then made to smell the armpits of random strangers and then pick out the scent that they like."

"A lot of people have fallen completely in love with the scent of someone and it becomes like a drug. The reason for it is called the MHC locus. This is a complex of genes that determine what you smell like," she explained further, via the news organization. "That complex also determines your suite of immune deficiencies - your ability to fight disease."

"Humans are programmed to be attracted to someone who has a different set so that their offspring have a greater chance of fighting disease," Cromier added.

Researchers note that participants will also be asked to rate the attractiveness of a strangers voice.

"A lot of women like a deep-toned voice because it sounds masculine and a lot of men like a high pitched one," Cromier said. "But both of those stereotypes are a bit of a misnomer and we found that it was quite personal and that the assortment was random."

"Every human society makes loud music, sleeps around and takes drugs. The question is why? It would seem to be detrimental to our ability to survive," she added.

What do you think?