Pride, prejudice and the 'Darcin effect'
Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 08:10
in Biology & Nature
The pheromone that attracts female mice to the odour of a particular male has been identified. Named 'darcin' by researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Biology (after Darcy, the attractive hero in Jane Austen's novel 'Pride and Prejudice'), this unusual protein in a male's urine attracts females and is responsible for learned preference for specific males...