The hot new way to find love is a cheek swab. Just load up a stick with your saliva and send it in for testing to Pheramor, a new dating app that analyses your DNA and matches you with potential partners. In other words, this whole 23andMe craze has really gotten out of hand.
According to Pheramor, it can pinpoint 11 genes "proven" to determine romantic and sexual attraction, build you a profile, and give you a compatibility score that matches you with other users, all based on genetics. One study in particular the app points to is the "Sweaty T-shirt Experiment" conducted in the '90s, which found that women were more attracted to the sweaty t-shirt smells of men who had more genetic diversity in those 11 genes than themselves. In other words, it suggested that opposites attract due to smells we unwittingly emit. (We non-scientists refer to this genetic phenomenon as "pheromones.")
Scientists have been interested in how those 11 genes relate to attraction for a long time. But while a series of later studies backed up the theory that women can sniff out genetic diversity in men, no one has been able to definitively prove why, according to Wired. Some scientists go as far to say pheromones are pseudoscience. This all makes Pheramor's platform iffy.
Besides, take a look at the couples around you. How often does the theory that "opposites attract" actually play out?
Along with its DNA-testing kits, Pheramor syncs users' social media accounts for a more robust personality profile, and when it suggests a match, it blurs photos to keep users focused on compatibility scores, not looks.
Pheramor officially launched in Houston, America, last month, but it plans to expand soon. Consider yourself warned.
Sarah Rense is the Lifestyle Editor at Esquire, where she covers tech, food, drinks, home, and more.
