Tears, a love kill? The chemicals present in female tears are believed to have the power to lower themale excitement, by lowering their testosterone level. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and Wolfson Hospital in Tel Aviv made this discovery as part of work to assess the role of tears in non-verbal communication and particularly in sexual behavior. Their results were published in the American magazine Science Express.
For the experiment, 24 men aged 23 to 32 divided into two groups felt the tears of the women shed as they watched sad movies. Whereas the team of researchers expected the volunteers to feel some empathy at the smell of tears. Instead, their heart rate, breathing rate, and participants’ testosterone level indicated a reduction in signs of sexual arousal to their lowest level. An MRI of their brains performed on the participants corroborated this finding.
This finding could open up new perspectives in the treatment of certain cancers, the researchers believe. “There are a number of conditions that are treated by lowering the levels of testosterone, which plays a role in triggering Prostate cancer“, assures Dr Noam Sobel of the Weizmann Institute.
Could women’s tears ever be used as an effective treatment for prostate cancer? Further studies are needed before considering this method.
