Gegogi
March 7, 2008, 1:20am
19
Actually no need to speculate as science has already answered that question. That is, it has nothing to do with what we produce naturally and everything to do with a certain inherited gene. About 30% of males are unable to smell androstenone due to the lack of a particular gene:
They found that people with a functional copy of the gene, called OR7D4, made properly shaped receptors that accepted androstenone. But thirty percent of people had a variation of the gene (OR7D4 WM) that made a receptor into which the androstenone could not fit. The difference in the receptor was very small Gene l — just two amino acids differed — but the effects were pronounced. Those with the functional copy were eleven times more sensitive to androstenone than their counterparts. And that marked the first proof that a particular gene was responsible for a person’s ability to smell a certain odor.
Scent of a Man: Science Videos - Science News - ScienCentral
Genetic variation in a human odorant receptor alte…[Nature. 2007] - PubMed Result
All cockroached outta another thread on this very subject: