Posts Tagged ‘saliva’

Do I smell sexy?

Monday, May 19th, 2008

For members who submit a saliva sample, dating website ScientificMatch.com plays matchmaker using DNA and smell.

THE MATING GAME

By Regina Nuzzo

Special to the Times

Los Angeles Times — Health Section

May 19, 2008

Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles TimesSwapping spit: The term takes on a more refined meaning at the new dating site ScientificMatch.com. A prerequisite for signing up — in addition to having a bit of cash to spare — involves swishing a cotton swab inside your cheek and mailing a juicy sample of skin cells and saliva.

What do you get in return for your DNA-laden drool? A chance at genetic and olfactory harmony. ScientificMatch.com — perhaps the first company to combine the commercial potential of genetic testing, dating and the Internet in one package — offers to find you a lover who smells good.

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Mark of the Vampire

Sunday, October 29th, 2006

Bat saliva has an enzyme that may help prevent brain damage in stroke victims.

By Regina Nuzzo
Special to The Times

Los Angeles Times — Health Section
October 30, 2006

Vampire Bat

JUST for the record, vampire bats don’t suck. They lap.

Under the cover of darkness, the mouse-sized Desmodus rotundus flies out from rocky caves to find a sleeping horse or cow. Its razor-sharp incisors carve out a tidy crater of flesh, no bigger than a Halloween M&M, usually without waking its prey.

Then, perched over the welling wound, the vampire bat laps up about a tablespoon of blood — its sole source of nourishment — with a delicate, bright-pink tongue.

Normally, wounds like these would start to heal within minutes. But dinnertime for a vampire bat lasts as long as half an hour. Its saliva contains a special enzyme that immediately liquefies blood clots, keeping the vampire bat’s meal smooth and fresh.

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