
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 18, 1993                   TAG: 9312030379
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PHEROMONES ACT AS A NATURAL MATING CALL - NOT

You may have heard about pheromones, chemicals secreted in sweat and often credited with acting as a natural ``mating call,'' a sexual lure.

That's all very romantic, but it simply isn't so, says Dr. George Preti of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. ``There's no scientific evidence.''

So what do pheromones do?

They can help women have regular periods, for one thing, which could increase their fertility. That's why women who share close living arrangements often get their periods at the same time. Sweat.

Even sweat from ``men'' has an effect.

``Male underarm odor may act to regularize a menstrual cycle and not let it stray from a set time. It may make for a very regular cycle, and therefore a much more potentially fertile cycle,'' Preti says.

\ KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE

by CNB