Women who lust over handsome stars such as Brad Pitt may really be craving their immune systems. Their chiselled faces and toned bodies are a sign that they have more antibodies to fight off diseases, and women who fancy them want to pass these genes on to their own children, according to research by Abertay University in Scotland.
The findings suggest that women might be more attracted to men with high levels of the sex hormone testosterone because they have a healthier immune system.
Sexual characteristics in male faces are testosterone-dependent, but how the sex hormone affects immune function is unclear.
Photo: EPA
照片:歐新社
The researchers measured the immune responses of 74 Latvian men in their early twenties to a hepatitis vaccine, and determined the blood concentrations of testosterone and cortisol. They then asked Latvian women of a similar age to rank the participants by facial attractiveness on a 10 point scale.
The team found that men with a strong immune response had high levels of testosterone and were perceived as more attractive. Men with low levels of testosterone tended to have higher concentrations of cortisol, suggesting that their immune responses might have been inhibited by the stress hormone.
(LIBERTY TIMES)
女人垂涎像布萊德彼特這種帥哥明星,或許只是渴望他們的免疫系統。根據蘇格蘭亞伯泰大學的研究,這種男人臉部輪廓鮮明、身體結實強健,顯示他們擁有更多抗體以抵抗疾病,而女人想把這種基因傳給孩子。
這些發現意味著,女人或許是因為性荷爾蒙睪酮素較高的男性免疫系統較健康,而對他們比較著迷。
男人臉上的性別特質取決於睪酮素,但是還不清楚這種性荷爾蒙如何影響免疫功能。
研究人員測量七十四名年紀二十歲出頭的拉脫維亞男人對一種肝炎疫苗的免疫反應,並判定他們血液中睪酮素和皮質醇的濃度。然後,請類似年紀的拉脫維亞女人,根據臉部吸引力,以最高十分評比參與試驗的男性。
研究團隊發現,有強烈免疫反應的男人,睪酮素較高,也被認為較有吸引力。睪酮素低的男人通常皮質醇濃度較高,意味著這種壓力荷爾蒙或許抑制了他們的免疫系統反應。
(自由時報/翻譯:管淑平)
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Drive-through (or drive-thru) restaurants provide people with the immense convenience of being able to purchase and pick up meals without needing to leave their vehicles. These restaurants have been around for decades, and their success has spawned a number of equally handy services. The drive-through concept originated with the drive-in restaurant, the first of which was established in the US in 1921. Patrons would order and eat the food that was delivered to their cars by workers called “carhops.” Ten years later, a drive-through service was introduced, but it was not until 1947 that the first exclusively drive-through restaurant opened its
On Tuesday last week, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony. It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000km before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens venue used for the first modern Olympics in 1896. The pageantry at Olympia has been an essential part of every Olympics for nearly 90 years since the Games in Berlin. It’s meant to provide an ineluctable link between the modern event and the ancient Greek original on which it was initially modelled. Once