研究：人的鼻子能嗅出性别

研究：人的鼻子能嗅出性别 　　

WASHINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The human nose can sniff¹ out gender² from body secretions³ even though people don't think they smell anything, Chinese researchers reported Thursday.

　　Wen Zhou of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and her colleagues found that two compounds in human bodily fluids, androstadienone in males and estratetraenol in females, effectively signal masculinity and femininity, respectively, in manners contingent⁴ upon the recipients⁵' gender and sexual orientation⁶.

　　"Our findings provide behavior support for human chemosensory communication of gender, and argue for the existence of human sex pheromones," Zhou wrote in an email interview with Xinhua.

　　Earlier studies showed that androstadienone, found in male semen and armpits, can promote positive mood in females as opposed to males. Estratetraenol, first identified in female urine, has similar effects on males. But it wasn't clear whether those chemicals were truly acting⁷ as sexual cues.

　　Human nose can sniff out gender: <a href=http://www.hxen.com target=_blank class=infotextkey>study</a>

　　In the new study, Zhou and her colleagues recruited participants of different gender and sexual orientation and examined their gender judgments⁸ of computer dots that represent a person walking, known as point-light walkers.

　　Each participant repetitively viewed seven point-light walkers that ranged from slightly more like a male to slightly more like a female, and pressed one of two buttons to indicate whether each was a male walker or a female walker.

　　In the mean time they were exposed to one of three olfactory⁹ stimuli¹⁰: androstadienone, estratetraenol, or a control solution, all of which smelled like cloves¹¹ and were perceptually indiscriminable.

　　The results revealed that smelling androstadienone systematically¹² biased¹³ heterosexual females, but not males, toward perceiving walkers as more masculine. By contrast, smelling estratetraenol systematically biased heterosexual males, but not females, toward perceiving walkers as more feminine, Zhou said.

　　Interestingly, homosexual males exhibited a response pattern akin¹⁴ to that of heterosexual females, whereas bisexual or homosexual females fell in between heterosexual males and females, she said.

　　While the visual gender cues were extremely ambiguous, smelling androstadienone versus¹⁵ estratetraenol produced about an eight percent change in gender perception, a statistically¹⁶ very significant effect, Zhou noted¹⁷.

　　"The results provide the first direct evidence that the two human steroids communicate opposite gender information that is differentially effective to the two sex groups based on their sexual orientation," the researchers wrote in their paper. " Moreover, they demonstrate that human visual gender perception draws on subconscious¹⁸ chemosensory biological cues, an effect that has been hitherto unsuspected."

　　The findings were published in the U.S. journal Current Biology.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 secretions   

n.分泌（物）( secretion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lysozyme is an enzyme found in egg white, tears, and other secretions. 溶菌酶是存在于卵白、泪和其他分泌物中的一种酶。 来自辞典例句
• Chest percussion and vibration are used with postural drainage to help dislodge secretions. 在做体位引流时要敲击和振动胸部帮助分泌物松动排出。 来自辞典例句

4 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

5 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

9 olfactory   

adj.嗅觉的

参考例句：

• He is to develop a sensor to substitute for the olfactory abilities of dogs.克罗克将研制一种传感器用以代替狗的嗅觉功能。
• Based on these findings, Keller suspects that each person has an olfactory blind spot.根据这些发现，凯勒推断，每个人都有一个嗅觉盲区。

10 stimuli   

n.刺激（物）

参考例句：

• It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
• My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。

11 cloves   

n.丁香（热带树木的干花，形似小钉子，用作调味品，尤用作甜食的香料）( clove的名词复数 )；蒜瓣(a garlic ~|a ~of garlic)

参考例句：

• My country is rich in cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, and precious stones. 我国盛产肉桂、丁香、生姜、胡椒和宝石。 来自辞典例句
• Ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper and cloves are common spices. 姜、肉豆蔻、肉桂、胡椒、丁香都是常用的香料。 来自辞典例句

12 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

13 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

14 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

15 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

16 statistically   

ad.根据统计数据来看，从统计学的观点来看

参考例句：

• The sample of building permits is larger and therefore, statistically satisfying. 建筑许可数的样本比较大，所以统计数据更令人满意。
• The results of each test would have to be statistically independent. 每次试验的结果在统计上必须是独立的。

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

18 subconscious   

n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的)

参考例句：

• Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。
• My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。