'Irresistibility' gene that makes the fittest's sweat smell sweet to the opposite sex

By Fiona Macrae

Irresistible? Men find women - such as actress Christina Hendricks - more attractive if they have higher levels of the MHC genes


Whether you are irresistible to the opposite sex or not may be a direct result of how sweet your sweat smells to the object of your desire.

Research shows that clues to the genetic make-up of a woman could be held in her perspiration – or in her looks.

According to Australian scientists, who studied the DNA of almost 150 university students, the secrets of attraction are hidden in immune system genes that we inherit from our parents.

Clues to this could be contained in a woman’s appearance or sweat – which signals to potential partners that children produced would have the greatest chance of fighting disease.

The volunteers, including would-be doctors and engineers, also filled in detailed questionnaire about their love lives.

The DNA was scrutinised for variation in genes known to influence the immune system.

The more diverse these genes, the stronger a person's defence against disease.

The results of the genetic tests were then matched up with the survey answers.

This showed that the women with the most varied major histocompatibility (MHC) genes, had the most sexual partners.


More attractive women - such as actresses Scarlett Johansson and Charlize Theron - could show higher levels of the gene in their looks or sweat


The scientists, from the University of Western Australia, can't be certain why a woman's immune system affects her success with men.

Importantly, they aren't clear whether her genes make her irresistible to the opposite sex - or whether she finds them irresistible.

But that say a possibility is that a woman's appearance or sweat contains clues to the genetic make-up of her immune system.

Previous studies have shown that the more different someone's sweat is to yours, the more pleasant you find them - and their sweat.

It is thought the phenomenon evolved to prevent us unintentionally mating with relatives - or others who are genetically similar to us.

Alternatively, women with a diverse array of MHC genes may be naturally more gregarious.

Or, as the researchers put it: 'It is possible that MHC-diverse women have more sexual partners because they actively seek more partners, rather than because males prefer diverse partners.'

A third possibility is that women with strong immune systems are simply more choosy about who they settle down with.

The research team concluded: 'None of these explanations are mutually exclusive and, regardless of the underlying mechanism, the effect of MHC diversity is intriguing and deserves further investigation.'

There was, however, no link between a man's MHC genes and his success with women, the journal Animal Behavior reports.


source: dailymail