Over the centuries, physics, chemistry, and biology have transformed what once was seen as mysterious or even magical—the rotation of the stars, flowers blooming, causes of disease—into well-understood phenomena.
Could the same now be happening to love and lust, the most mysterious and magical of all human emotions?
In recent weeks, two companies (Instant Chemistry and SingldOut) have made a media splash with their launch of a new direct-to-consumer genetic testing service to help determine compatibility in intimate relationships. SingldOut is an online dating service that operates via the professional networking site LinkedIn and uses Instant Chemistry’s genetic testing results to match its members. DNA results become part of each user’s profile, and members can search for and evaluate potential matches based on their genetic compatibility.
Instant Chemistry and SingldOut are not the first to promote genetic testing to determine romantic compatibility. In 2008, a company called GenePartner began to offer genetic testing to identify relationship compatibility. Applying a similar concept are “pheromone parties” in which singles sniff well-worn T-shirts worn by members of the opposite sex to facilitate biological matches based on pheromones, the elusive compounds of attraction.
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Unlike some direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies (such as those claiming to offer genetically tailored nutritional supplements, which have been subject to enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive claims), there is some legitimate science behind the new DNA-matching dating websites.
Read the full, original story: I love your genes!
