[ExI] Fwd: [EP_group] Dating site matches couples by body odour

[hkhenson]

Now *this* is a nice example of EP getting into 
commercial application.  The research that led up 
to this was first observed maybe two or three decades ago in mice.

What makes for a distinctive body odour is a 
person's MHC genes, the same ones you have to match for tissue transplants.


>Dating site matches couples by body odour
>By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
>
>An American dating company claims to have 
>cracked the secret to physical attraction and 
>finding that perfect match ? body odour.
>
>To the founders of ScientificMatch.com, love is 
>simply a matter of chemistry. It asks members to 
>submit a DNA sample ? the saliva-swab commonly 
>used in paternity or drug testing ? and then 
>analyses it to calculate their ideal partner.
>
>This will be someone with ?a natural odour 
>you?ll love, with whom you?d have healthier 
>children and a more satisfying sex life?, says 
>the company, which claims to be ?the only 
>introduction service that creates matches with actual physical chemistry?.
>
>The process works, the founders say, because DNA 
>analysis enables scientists to match people with 
>compatible immune system genes ? ie, those with 
>different immune systems with whom they would 
>create babies with more robust immune systems.
>And the company claims: ?The fact is, we love 
>how other people smell when their immune systems 
>are different from ours ? they smell sexier.?
>
>Members, who are charged close to £1,000 for the 
>service, are also asked fill out a questionnaire 
>on their ?fundamental, core values? so they can 
>be matched to people who share their beliefs, a 
>process the company likens to ?soul matching, or values matching?.
>
>The service has so far been launched in the 
>Boston area, which is seen as a fertile market 
>because of its large number of single people - 
>around 39 per cent of the population, according to local surveys.

In a few years there should be some really 
interesting statistics coming out of this company.

Keith