(CNN) -- The power of smell
is undeniable, as the multi-billion dollar perfume
industry testifies. But is it possible that humans
are influenced by airborne chemicals undetectable
as odors, called pheromones?
Though any number of animals and insects use pheromones
to communicate with each other about important
things such as food, territory and sex, the idea
that humans might be similarly influenced has
been controversial among scientists.
But now, researchers at the University of Chicago
say they have the first proof that humans produce
and react to pheromones.
In findings published in the journal Nature, researchers
say they found that female ovulation can be regulated
-- made longer or shorter -- through the use of
pheromones.
"The pheromones regulate the time of ovulation.
There are two pheromones -- one that makes ovulation
more likely and the other that suppresses it and
makes it less likely," said Martha McClintock
of the University of Chicago.
There could be important practical implications
from this finding. Because pheromones influence
the release of eggs, researchers say they may
provide a more natural way of preventing pregnancy
or treating infertility.
However, researchers say more study is needed
to find out if there are other types of pheromones
and if they are as powerful in humans as they
are in other species.
One enduring mystery of pheromones is that if
they are undetectable by the human sense of smell,
how can humans be influenced by them?
The answer, some researchers believe, is that
pheromones are detected by the same nerve cells
in the nose used to detect odor or perhaps by
another structure in the nose called the vomeronasal
organ.
Medical Correspondent Rhonda Rowland contributed
to this report.
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