Honestly, how many jokes are there about semen being good for women? It’s moisturizing. It’s all protein and low in carbs. That’s all bollocks but researchers at Cornell University have confirmed that semen has short and long-term effects in women. Alright, so the preceding statement isn’t entirely factual. The research team actually found that the semen of male fruit flies has a significant effect on the female fruit fly after mating. To summarize, in the short-run the female fruit flies produce more eggs and in the long-run, they are less concerned about mating with other males. From the report:
The short-term response occurs during the first 24 h after mating, with the induction of elevated egg production and reduction in receptivity largely dependent on Acps (accessory gland proteins-editor) and not sperm. One Acp, ovulin (Acp26Aa), affects only short-term egg production by regulating ovulation for the first 24 h. After 24 h, maintenance of post-mating physiological and behavioral changes requires the presence of stored sperm in the female (the long-term response; also called sperm effect). -PLoS Genetics Research article
The similarities between human and fruit fly sperm are what’s noteworthy. You see, the same behavior-controlling proteins found in the fruit fly sperm are also present in human sperm. The conclusion-in-waiting, then, is that human sperm might have a similar effect on women, namely, increased egg-production immediately after and long-term negligence of other males. Some of the proteins, if isolated and fully understood, may pave the way for fertility treatments.
We think it’s reasonable that sperm could have a biological effect on a woman once inside. Hormonal and behavioral changes brought about by successful intercourse make total sense from a biological point of view. As has been the case from time immemorial, however, the problem has always been getting with the woman, not filling her up, so to speak.
Crude statements aside, it would appear the Japanese might have been on to something when they came up with bukkake. Word.
Popularity: 56% [?]
Really? They just came up with this now? Ideas very similar to this have been well known, even scientifically, for years.
Women do not have a purpose, biologically, to gain as much semen as they can. Their purpose to find the *best* semen. Given that they can only have children so often it is in their best interest (biologically) to only have viable eggs when around the best sperm.
There was a study done a while back with married women who were having an affair. They were told to keep daily calendar of when they had sex with their husband, when they had sex with their lover, and the dates of their menstrual cycle, and some other biological things. Well, what the researchers found out was that the wives were (inadvertantly) cheating on days they had the most egg production and were sleeping with their husbands when they wouldn’t get pregnant. So, subconsciously, or even lower on the brain stem than subconscious, as purely biologically, when their eggs were most viable they would *only* mate with who the woman (biologically) considered the better sperm, or the alpha.
On the same note, as men are constantly producing sperm (and hence the reason for a lack of real men’s birth control), and we are not affected by birth, it is in our best interest (biologically) to spread the sperm to as many women as possible.
(For the feminists out there, this is not me being chauvinistic. This is biology.)
From an evolutionary standpoint, this stands true as well. As females are only able to give birth (at a maximum rate of) once every nine months, and I believe it’s a bit less than that, in order for evolution to work, they need to make sure the best genes go forward. On the same account, for maximum chance survival of the males, it is in their best interest that their genes are spread as much as possible.
And therefore, I would have no doubt in my mind that sperm cells would have evolved to actually have chemicals to try and prevent the woman from desiring other sperms.
I think one of the important points of the original report is that it is not sperm that drives the short term response but the protein, ovulin, thereby lending credence to the idea an effective fertility treatment can be devised (and would conceivably not involve active sperm). It’s weird talking about man-juice matter-o’-factly…
WHat!?!? so you are telling me that semen It’s not moisturizing???? And it is not all protein and low in carbs?!?!?!? well do me a favour, please dont tell my gf that! that would just ruin “freaky friday’s” for me!!!
Freaky Friday’s huh… wow.
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!
Your blog is interesting!
Keep up the good work!
The compliments are much appreciated Alex M, we’re in between things right now but the Womb is about to get reproductive once again!