The natural history of a lost sense
Name
70786591-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
1.7 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
bf83631a694d6fd2c5497a105bfa9f09
Author(s)
Steiner, Siri Lefren
Advisor(s)
Thomas Levenson.
Date Issued
2005
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis is an investigation of the vomeronasal organ, which senses pheromones. It traces the use of the organ in land-dwelling vertebrates, and suggests evidence that the organ is vestigial in humans and Old World monkeys. Possible explanations for the loss of the vomeronasal organ in these groups are described and evaluated. Notably, the development of tri-color vision may have replaced pheromones for sexual selection in these lineages. This may explain the human proclivity for visual information over pheromonal cues.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2005.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-27).
Subjects
Graduate Program in Science Writing.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing
MIT Program in Writing & Humanistic Studies
Terms of Use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
Persistent DSpace Link
