Why do we kiss?
God knows it feels good but is there more to it than that?
Is there a biological, evolutionary basis for why it feels so wonderful?
Perhaps, after millions of years of evolution, a kiss is not just a kiss?
Smooching in all its varieties and imperatives is the subject of Sheril Kirshenbaum's wonderful book The Science of Kissing. Kirshenbaum is a biologist and researcher at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a blogger along with science journalist Chris Mooney over at The Intersection hosted by DISCOVER magazine. Kirshenbaum has deep curiosity which allows her to keep her scientific account of our favorite lip-smush activity from becoming so dry that even a case of Burt's Bee Balm wouldn't help.
Why do women place such an emphasis on the first kiss? Here is what the science says,
Culture, of course, plays its own role as well and Kirshenbaum follows the evolution of the kiss across history. It is a rich topic. After all, there is kissing of more than just the passionate (i.e. sucking-face) kind. There is also the air kiss, the grandma kiss, and the mafia don kiss. There are a lot of reasons for the pucker and lots of reasons why nature and culture made it such a useful activity.
The Science of Kissing is a wonderful idea for a book that is wonderfully embodied. Now if someone could only explain the science of that thing guys do when they kind of hug but slap each other on the back too.
God knows it feels good but is there more to it than that?
Is there a biological, evolutionary basis for why it feels so wonderful?
Perhaps, after millions of years of evolution, a kiss is not just a kiss?
Smooching in all its varieties and imperatives is the subject of Sheril Kirshenbaum's wonderful book The Science of Kissing. Kirshenbaum is a biologist and researcher at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a blogger along with science journalist Chris Mooney over at The Intersection hosted by DISCOVER magazine. Kirshenbaum has deep curiosity which allows her to keep her scientific account of our favorite lip-smush activity from becoming so dry that even a case of Burt's Bee Balm wouldn't help.
Why do women place such an emphasis on the first kiss? Here is what the science says,
Women, who according to studies place more emphasis and importance on a kiss, use the mouth-to-mouth moment as a way to judge the taste of the tongue, lips and saliva to see if she is with an adequate mate.Romantic, yes?
Sense of smell doesn't just provide a window into hygiene habits; it also gives women access to the unseen DNA of their chosen mate. According to recent studies, women can smell when a man's group of genes that manage the immune system, called MHC, are matched well to her own. Scientists theorize that kissing may be so ubiquitous because it gives women an instant check on if there is chemistry, literally (or less poetic terms, if they would make good children together).
Culture, of course, plays its own role as well and Kirshenbaum follows the evolution of the kiss across history. It is a rich topic. After all, there is kissing of more than just the passionate (i.e. sucking-face) kind. There is also the air kiss, the grandma kiss, and the mafia don kiss. There are a lot of reasons for the pucker and lots of reasons why nature and culture made it such a useful activity.
The Science of Kissing is a wonderful idea for a book that is wonderfully embodied. Now if someone could only explain the science of that thing guys do when they kind of hug but slap each other on the back too.
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