As humans we are constantly maintaining a level of homeostasis. We see this in our bodies ability to maintain a normal glucose range of 75-100mg/100mL or in our blood pH staying between 7.35-7.45. Our bodies naturally have created ways to combat any deviation from our normal range. For example, this is shown in the mechanism of regulating heat. What happens when we get too hot? We sweat! This is our body’s way of creating a negative feedback loop through thermoregulation. But what if I told you that your sweat could do so much more than cool your body temperature down?
According to a study conducted by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, chemo-signalling can occur between two people through a simple handshake. The studied mechanism is one subject’s sweat can interact with chemoreceptors on another subject’s hand during the handshake (Frimin et. al, 2015). This is also paired with both subjects sniffing their own hands after the interaction (Frimin et. al, 2015). Meaning, the subjects brought their hands close enough to touch their face after the greeting event occurred either consciously or unconsciously to smell their own hand (Frimin et. al, 2015). This study also showed increased facial touching within genders; females smelled their hands more after interacting with other females versus when interacting with males (Frimin et. al, 2015). The researchers believe this could have an impact on how people interact with one another after making physical contact and the chem-signaling occurs.
Extensive studies have been performed testing odors and animals, specifically in rodents. Rodents in these studies picked mates, tracked prey and even identified predators through their use of smell (Ferkin, 2018). Is our natural odor trying to tell us something about our homeostatic state? What if humans could harness this ability to enhance our sense of smell to understand sweat or other odors - how would that change our interactions with others? Could we smell if someone is going into cardiac distress through a simple handshake? Could there be a specific odor to diagnose cancer in its early stages? Could a scent trigger an immune response? The possibilities could be endless. Science has moved away from using smells to diagnose as technology has advanced due to many sanitary regulations. However, maybe it is time to reassess and stop looking for solutions and start smelling!
Sources:
Ferkin M. H. (2018). Odor Communication and Mate Choice in Rodents. Biology, 7(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology7010013
Idan Frumin, Ofer Perl, Yaara Endevelt-Shapira, Ami Eisen, Neetai Eshel, Iris Heller, Maya Shemesh, Aharon Ravia, Lee Sela, Anat Arzi, & Noam Sobel. (2015). A social chemosignaling function for human handshaking. ELife, 4. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05154
Thanks for posting about this!! I though it was very interesting that we as humans would send chemo signals to one another, I thought that was something that occurred within different animals. I also thought it was interesting because I never thought about how often I smell my hand. I also thought it was interesting how hand smelling occurs more frequently among females. I also believe that this may also be why we as humans are very self conscious usually about how we smell, especially during an initial interaction with someone new. I would love to know more information over this study and how it could be used to understand when we are out of homeostasis.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and interesting topic! I think you bring up a great point by stating that the use of smell could be a useful diagnosis tool. I remember hearing about dogs detecting cancer and I found a research article that stated that dogs can be trained to smell volatile organic compounds in urine that could be cancer biomarkers. I think this same technique could be applied to various other diseases and the use of the dog would possibly make the whole sanitation issue less prominent. We already train dogs to detect seizures, anxiety and gluten allergies so why not look into other applications. I know that at times dogs even alert to a cancer without training so imagine the possibilities!
ReplyDeleteCornu, J.-N., Cancel-Tassin, G., Ondet, V., Girardet, C., & Cussenot, O. (2011). Olfactory detection of prostate cancer by dogs sniffing urine: A step forward in early diagnosis. European Urology, 59(2), 197–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2010.10.006