You tried every trick your Mom taught you. You’ve practiced every skill you learnt from your room-mates in college but this girl is not budging. The guy doesn’t just seem to notice you. Well, before you take it personal, you may have to read a new scientific discovery that may be responsible for your situation.
Scientists have identified a chemical in the brain that controls sexual preference in mice. The chemical is called Serotonin. Researchers in China report that Male mice bred without serotonin lose their preference for females.
Serotonin belongs to a group of compounds called neurotransmitters, which are chemical substances that carry impulses from one nerve cell to another. It is the first time a neurotransmitter has been credited with playing a role in sexual preference in mammals, the scientists claim. The report is available in the Journal Nature.
Now Summary of the experiments:
The scientist bred male mice whose brains were not receptive to serotonin. They also had control mice that were not modified and have the brains receptive to serotonin.
They conducted a series of experiments on the two group of mice. The results undeniably showed that the first group had lost the preference for females shown by unmodified males.
When presented with a choice of partners, they could not show any preference for either males or females.
In fact the modified males were as ready to mount on the fellow males and mate with them as they do to female mice. When serotonin was later injected into the brain of mice which lacked the tryptonphan hydroxylase-2 gene (a gene needed to produce serotonin), their preference for the girl mice was restored. They were now chasing and working hard to mount on the females and mate with them.
You’ve tried the valentine day teddy bear thing, the birth card with red arrows, and the invitation to youth program at church but none of these worked. But you think you’re hot and, in fact, people say you’re hot. It may be a good idea not to take it personal but attribute it to the lack of Serotonin in his or her brain. Doesn’t that make you feel good?
Disclaimer: This is a high level scientific discovery but I have tried to simplify the report for your comprehension. Please note that there are dangers in drawing conclusions about human sexuality from such a study. It is provided for your information only.
