Last week, the AP ran a fun story, Genetic Love Matches Go Cheek to Cheek...
Looking for love? Try leaning in for a ... cheek swab.
A couple of genetic testing companies are promising to match couples based on the DNA testing, touting the benefits of biological compatibility.
The companies claim that a better biological match will mean better sex, less cheating, longer-lasting love and perhaps even healthier children…
The GenePartner Test is $99, and will be offered at the dating site sense2love.com when it relaunches next month.
The idea is that people tend to be attracted to those who have immune system genes that are dissimilar from their own.
Biologists say the HLA genes of the immune system — which are responsible for recognizing and marking foreign cells such as viruses so other parts of the immune system can attack them — also determine body odor "fingerprints." And people tend to be attracted to the natural body odors of those who have different HLA genes from their own.
In one study, Swiss biologist Claus Wedekind found that women who were not taking hormonal contraception preferred the natural scent of men whose immune systems were the most different from theirs.
But don't put too much faith in this, experts said.
Dr. Rocio Moran, medical director of the General Genetics Clinic at the Cleveland Clinic, called the idea "ridiculous," and said the science of attraction is too complex to look at only a few genes…
When a random sample of married people was studied, their immune systems were not that different, said Patrick Markey, associate professor of psychology at Villanova. And he notes that hundreds of studies have shown the importance of personality and physical appearance in choosing a mate…
Rachel Herz, author of "The Scent of Desire," who teaches olfaction and human behavior at Brown, believes the science is legit but thinks prospective matches should swap T-shirts and sniff.
"Above all physical factors — for example, how he looks — and social factors, how guys smell is more important than anything else," she said…
GenePartner did not respond to a request to speak to its customers…
H/T: Darwiniana
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