jessica wrote:
] ] In a study to be published in the journal Biology of
] ] Reproduction, researchers collected samples from the
] ] underarms of men who refrained from using deodorant for
] ] four weeks. The extracts were then blended and applied to
] ] the upper lips of 18 women, aged 25 to 45.
] ]
] ] The women rated their moods on a fixed scale for a period
] ] of six hours. The findings suggested something in the
] ] perspiration brightened their moods and helped them feel
] ] less tense. Blood analyses also showed a rise in levels
] ] of the reproductive luteinizing hormone that typically
] ] surge before ovulation.

I'd be interested to know if they cross-referenced the genetic type of the subjects involved. It reminds me of the "sweaty T-shirt" study done several years ago in Switzerland, where they asked women to smell T-shirts which had been worn by men of varying genetic types. What the study showed, was that women would rate men as "smelling sexier" if the man who'd worn the shirt had a different MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex) than the woman who was doing the sniffing (as an interesting side note, women who were on the pill would rate men with the *same* MHC as smelling sexy).

More info here:
 http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rjh9u/mhcsml.html

RE: Study: Male sweat brightens women's moods