The smelly mystery of the human pheromone | Tristram Wyatt

Prevoditelj: Senzos Osijek Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

"Pheromone" is a very powerful word.

„Feromon“ je vrlo moćna riječ.

It conjures up sex, abandon, loss of control,

Asocira na seks, napuštanje, gubitak kontrole,

and you can see, it's very important as a word.

i, kao što možete vidjeti, vrlo je važna kao riječ.

But it's only 50 years old. It was invented in 1959.

Ali ima samo 50 godina. Izumljena je 1959.

Now, if you put that word into the web,

Ako potražite tu riječ na Internetu,

as you may have done,

kao što ste možda već učinili,

you'll come up with millions of hits,

dočekat će vas milijuni rezultata pretraživanja,

and almost all of those sites are trying to sell you

i gotovo sve te stranice pokušavaju vam prodati

something to make you irresistible

nešto što će vas učiniti neodoljivima

for 10 dollars or more.

za 10 dolara ili više.

Now, this is a very attractive idea,

Ovo je, naravno, vrlo atraktivna ideja,

and the molecules they mention

a molekule koje spominju

sound really science-y.

zvuče vrlo „znanstveno“.

They've got lots of syllables.

Imaju puno slogova.

It's things like androstenol, androstenone

To su riječi poput androstenol, androstenon

or androstadienone.

ili androstenodion.

It gets better and better,

Postaje sve bolje i bolje,

and when you combine that with white lab coats,

i kada to iskombinirate s bijelim kutama,

you must imagine that there is

zasigurno pomislite kako iza toga

fantastic science behind this.

stoji neka fantastična znanost.

But sadly, these are fraudulent claims

No nažalost, to su prevarantske tvrdnje

supported by dodgy science.

koje počivaju na lažnoj znanosti.

The problem is that, although there are many

Problem je u tome što, usprkos tome što mnogi

good scientists working on what they think

valjani znanstvenici rade na onome što oni smatraju

are human pheromones,

ljudskim feromonima,

and they're publishing in respectable journals,

i objavljuju svoje radove u priznatim časopisima,

at the basis of this,

u osnovi toga,

despite very sophisticated experiments,

unatoč vrlo sofisticiranim eksperimentima,

there really is no good science behind it,

iza njih ne stoji valjana znanost,

because it's based on a problem,

zato što je bazirana na problemu

which is nobody has systematically gone through

koji glasi: dosad nitko nije sustavno proučio

all the odors that humans produce --

sve mirise koje ljudi proizvode --

and there are thousands of molecules that we give off.

a postoje tisuće molekula koje oslobađamo.

We're mammals. We produce a lot of smell.

Sisavci smo. Stvaramo puno mirisa.

Nobody has gone through systematically

Nitko nije sustavno proučio

to work out which molecules really are pheromones.

koje su točno molekule feromoni.

They've just plucked a few,

Oni su samo iščeprkali nekoliko,

and all these experiments are based on those,

i svi ovi eksperimenti bazirani su na toj nekolicini,

but there's no good evidence at all.

no uopće nema valjanih dokaza.

Now, that's not to say

No, to naravno ne znači

that smell is not important to people.

da miris nije važan ljudima.

It is, and some people are real enthusiasts,

Važan je, i neki su ljudi istinski entuzijasti,

and one of these was Napoleon.

a jedan od tih ljudi bio je Napoleon.

And famously, you may remember

I, ako se možda sjećete slavne prispodobe,

that out on the campaign trail for war,

dok je putovao u potrazi za ratom,

he wrote to his lover, Empress Josephine,

pisao je svojoj ljubavnici, carici Jozefini,

saying, "Don't wash. I'm coming home."

govoreći, „Nemoj se prati. Dolazim kući.“

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So he didn't want to lose any of her richness

Nije htio izgubiti imalo njene dragocjenosti

in the days before he'd get home,

u danima prije nego što bi stigao kući,

and it is still, you'll find websites

i još uvijek, možete pronaći internetske stranice

that offer this as a major quirk.

koje to nude kao značajan hir.

At the same time, though,

Mada, istovremeno,

we spend about as much money

trošimo otprilike jednaki iznos novca

taking the smells off us

za uklanjanje naših mirisa

as putting them back on in perfumes,

i za vraćanje istih pomoću parfema,

and perfumes are a multi-billion-dollar business.

a parfemi su multimilijunski biznis.

So what I want to do in the rest of this talk

Stoga, ono što bih htio napraviti u ostatku ovog razgovora

is tell you about what pheromones really are,

jest reći vam što su zbilja feromoni,

tell you why I think we would expect

reći vam zašto mislim da bismo trebali očekivati

humans to have pheromones,

da ljudi imaju feromone,

tell you about some of the confusions in pheromones,

reći vam nešto o nedoumicama o feromonima,

and then finally, I want to end with

i naposlijetku, želio bih završiti

a promising avenue which shows us

s obećavajućim putem koji nam pokazuje

the way we ought to be going.

u kojem smjeru bismo se trebali kretati.

So the ancient Greeks knew

Dakle, stari su Grci znali

that dogs sent invisible signals between each other.

da psi međusobno izmjenjuju nevidljive signale.

A female dog in heat

Ženka tijekom tjeranja

sent an invisible signal to male dogs

šalje nevidljivi signal mužjacima

for miles around,

miljama u krug,

and it wasn't a sound, it was a smell.

i ako nije bio zvuk, bio je miris.

You could take the smell from the female dog,

Mogli biste uzeti miris ženke,

and the dogs would chase the cloth.

a mužjaci bi jurili za komadom tkanine.

But the problem for everybody

Ali, problem za sve ljude

who could see this effect

koji su mogli vidjeti ovaj efekt

was that you couldn't identify the molecules.

jest što nisu mogli identificirati molekule.

You couldn't demonstrate it was chemical.

Niste mogli dokazati da se radi o kemijskoj tvari.

The reason for that, of course,

Razlog tomu bio je, naravno,

is that each of these animals

da svaka od tih životinja

produces tiny quantities,

luči izuzetno male količine,

and in the case of the dog,

i u slučaju pasa,

males dogs can smell it, but we can't smell it.

mužjaci ih mogu namirisati, ali mi ne možemo.

And it was only in 1959 that a German team,

Tek 1959. njemački je tim,

after spending 20 years in search of these molecules,

nakon 20 godina provedenih u potrazi za ovim molekulama,

discovered, identified, the first pheromone,

otkrio, identificirao prvi feromon,

and this was the sex pheromone of a silk moth.

a to je bio seksualni feromon dudova svilca.

Now, this was an inspired choice by Adolf Butenandt and his team,

Ovo je, naime, bio nadahnuti izbor Adolfa Butenandta i njegovih suradnika,

because he needed half a million moths

zato što je trebao pola milijuna svilaca

to get enough material to do the chemical analysis.

da bi dobio dovoljnu količinu materijala za kemijsku analizu.

But he created the model

Ali, on je i kreirao model

for how you should go about pheromone analysis.

po kojemu bi se trebala raditi feromonska analiza.

He basically went through systematically,

Sustavno je sve prešao,

showing that only the molecule in question

pokazujući da jedina molekula u pitanju

was the one that stimulated the males,

jest ona koja stimulira mužjake,

not all the others.

a ne sve druge.

He analyzed it very carefully.

Analizirao ju je vrlo pažljivo.

He synthesized the molecule,

Sintetizirao je molekulu,

and then tried the synthesized molecule on the males

te ju onda iskušao na mužjacima

and got them to respond and showed it was,

koji su reagirali i pokazalo se

indeed, that molecule.

da je to doista ta molekula.

That's closing the circle.

To je zatvaranje kruga.

That's the thing which has never been done with humans:

To je ono što nikada nije učinjeno na ljudima:

nothing systematic, no real demonstration.

ništa sustavno, bez prave demonstracije.

With that new concept,

S tim novim konceptom,

we needed a new word,

trebali smo novu riječ,

and that was the word "pheromone,"

a riječ je bila „feromon“,

and it's basically transferred excitement,

i ona je u principu prenosivo uzbuđenje,

transferred between individuals,

koje se prenosi među pojedincima

and since 1959, pheromones have been found

i od 1959. feromoni su pronađeni

right the way across the animal kingdom,

diljem životinjskog carstva,

in male animals, in female animals.

u mužjacima, u ženkama.

It works just as well underwater

Podjednako dobro funkcionira i pod vodom

for goldfish and lobsters.

za zlatne ribice i jastoge.

And almost every mammal you can think of

U gotovo svakog sisavca kojega se možete sjetiti

has had a pheromone identified,

identificiran je feromon,

and of course, an enormous number of insects.

i, naravno, golemom broju insekata.

So we know that pheromones exist

Stoga znamo da feromoni postoje

right the way across the animal kingdom.

diljem životinjskog carstva.

What about humans?

Ali što je s ljudima?

Well, the first thing, of course,

Pa, kao prvo, naravno,

is that we're mammals,

sisavci smo.

and mammals are smelly.

A sisavci ne miriše lijepo.

As any dog owner can tell you,

Kao što će vam potvrditi svaki vlasnik psa,

we smell, they smell.

mi smrdimo, oni smrde.

But the real reason we might think

No, pravi razlog zbog kojega bismo pomislili

that humans have pheromones

da ljudi imaju feromone

is the change that occurs as we grow up.

jesu promjene koje se događaju kako odrastamo.

The smell of a room of teenagers

Miris sobe tinejdžera

is quite different

znatno se razlikuje

from the smell of a room of small children.

od mirisa sobe male djece.

What's changed? And of course, it's puberty.

Što se promijenilo? Odgovor je, naravno, pubertet.

Along with the pubic hair

Zajedno sa stidnim dlakama

and the hair in the armpits,

i onima ispod pazuha,

new glands start to secrete in those places,

nove žlijezde započinju izlučivanje na tim mjestima,

and that's what's making the change in smell.

i to čini promjenu u mirisu.

If we were any other kind of mammal,

Da smo neka druga vrsta sisavca,

or any other kind of animal,

ili neka druga životinja,

we would say,

rekli bismo:

"That must be something to do with pheromones,"

„To mora imati veze s feromonima,“

and we'd start looking properly.

i počeli bismo ispravno gledati.

But there are some problems, and this is why,

No, postoje neki problemi i oni su razlog zašto

I think, people have not looked for

mislim da ljudi nisu tragali za

pheromones so effectively in humans.

feromonima u ljudi toliko učinkovito.

There are, indeed, problems.

Postoje, zbilja, problemi.

And the first of these

I prvi od njih

is perhaps surprising.

je možda iznenađujuć.

It's all about culture.

Sve je do kulture.

Now moths don't learn a lot

Svilci ne uče mnogo o tome

about what is good to smell, but humans do,

što je prihvatljivo za njušenje, ali ljudi uče,

and up to the age of about four,

te je do četvrte godine,

any smell, no matter how rancid,

svaki miris, bez obzira koliko bio užegao,

is simply interesting.

jednostavno zanimljiv.

And I understand that the major role of parents

I razumijem da je velika uloga roditelja

is to stop kids putting their fingers in poo,

spriječiti djecu da stavljaju prste u izmet,

because it's always something nice to smell.

jer uvijek postoji nešto lijepo za ponjušiti.

But gradually we learn what's not good,

No, postepeno naučimo što nije dobro,

and one of the things we learn

a jedna od stvari koju naučimo

at the same time as what is not good

istovremeno kada i što nije dobro,

is what is good.

jest što je dobro.

Now, the cheese behind me

Sir iza mene

is a British, if not an English, delicacy.

Britanska je, ako ne engleska delikatesa.

It's ripe blue Stilton.

To je sazrio plavi Stilton.

Liking it is incomprehensible to people from other countries.

Ljubav prema njemu neshvatljiva je ljudima iz drugih zemalja.

Every culture has its own special food

Svaka kultura ima svoju vlastitu posebnu hranu

and national delicacy.

i nacionalne poslastice.

If you were to come from Iceland,

Ako dolazite s Islanda,

your national dish

vaše nacionalno jelo

is deep rotted shark.

je truli morski pas.

Now, all of these things are acquired tastes,

Sve nabrojane stvari pitanje su stečenoga ukusa,

but they form almost a badge of identity.

a one gotovo da tvore bedž identiteta.

You're part of the in-group.

Dio ste klike.

The second thing is the sense of smell.

Druga je stvar osjet njuha.

Each of us has a unique odor world,

Svatko od nas ima jedinstven svijet mirisa,

in the sense that what we smell,

u smislu onoga što njušimo,

we each smell a completely different world.

svatko osjeti potpuno drugačiji svijet.

Now, smell was the hardest

Njuh je bio najteži

of the senses to crack,

od osjeta za dešifrirati,

and the Nobel Prize awarded to

a Nobelova je nagrada dodijeljena

Richard Axel and Linda Buck

Richardu Axelu i Lindi Buck

was only awarded in 2004

tek 2004.

for their discovery of how smell works.

za njihovo otkriće kako radi osjet njuha.

It's really hard,

Doista je teško,

but in essence, nerves from the brain

no, u biti, živci iz mozga

go up into the nose

pružaju se do nosa

and on these nerves exposed in the nose

i na tim živcima u nosu izloženima

to the outside air are receptors,

vanjskom zraku nalaze se receptori,

and odor molecules coming in on a sniff

a dolazeće mirisne molekule prilikom udisaja

interact with these receptors,

uzajamno djeluju s tim receptorima,

and if they bond, they send the nerve a signal

te ako se povežu, šalju živčani signal

which goes back into the brain.

koji se vraća nazad do mozga.

We don't just have one kind of receptor.

Nemamo samo jednu vrstu receptora.

If you're a human, you have about 400

Ako ste čovjek, imate oko 400

different kinds of receptors,

različitih vrsta receptora,

and the brain knows what you're smelling

a mozak zna što njušite

because of the combination of receptors

zbog kombinacije receptora

and nerve cells that they trigger,

i živčanih stanica koje podražuju

sending messages up to the brain

šaljući u mozak

in a combinatorial fashion.

kombinatorične signale.

But it's a bit more complicated,

No, situacija je nešto kompliciranija,

because each of those 400

zato što svaki od njih 400

comes in various variants,

dolazi u raznim varijantama,

and depending which variant you have,

i oviseći o tome koju inačicu imate,

you might smell coriander, or cilantro, that herb,

možete namirisati korijandar, tu biljku,

either as something delicious and savory

kao nešto ukusno i prijatno,

or something like soap.

ili kao nešto poput sapuna.

So we each have an individual world of smell,

Stoga svatko ima vlastiti svijet mirisa,

and that complicates anything

i to komplicira sve

when we're studying smell.

dok proučavamo njuh.

Well, we really ought to talk about armpits,

Pa, zbilja bismo trebali pričati o pazusima,

and I have to say that I do have particularly good ones.

i moram reći da ja imam naročito dobre.

Now, I'm not going to share them with you,

Neću ih podijeliti s vama,

but this is the place that most people

no oni su mjesto na kojemu je većina ljudi

have looked for pheromones.

tražila feromone.

There is one good reason,

Postoji jedan dobar razlog,

which is, the great apes have armpits

koji je: veliki čovjekoliki majmuni imaju

as their unique characteristic.

jedinstvene karakteristične pazuhe.

The other primates have scent glands

Drugi primati imaju mirisne žlijezde

in other parts of the body.

u drugim dijelovima tijela.

The great apes have these armpits

Veliki primati imaju pazuhe

full of secretory glands

pune sekretornih žlijezda

producing smells all the time,

koje cijelo vrijeme proizvode mirise,

enormous numbers of molecules.

goleme iznose molekula.

When they're secreted from the glands,

Kada ih izluče iz žlijezde,

the molecules are odorless.

molekule su bezmirisne.

They have no smell at all,

Uopće nemaju mirisa,

and it's only the wonderful bacteria

i samo predivne bakterije

growing on the rainforest of hair

koje žive u prašumi dlaka

that actually produces the smells

zapravo proizvode mirise

that we know and love.

koje znamo i volimo.

And so incidentally, if you want to reduce

I ako slučajno želimo smanjiti

the amount of smell,

količinu mirisa,

clear-cutting your armpits

brijanje pazuha

is a very effective way of reducing

vrlo je učinkovito u reduciranju

the habitat for bacteria,

staništa za bakterije,

and you'll find they remain less smelly

i otkriti ćete da ostaju manje neugodna mirisa

for much longer.

puno dulje.

But although we've focused on armpits,

No, iako smo se fokusirali na pazuhe,

I think it's partly because they're the least

mislim da je zbog toga što su oni najmanje

embarrassing place to go and ask people for samples.

neugodno mjesto za tražiti uzorke od ljudi.

There is actually another reason why we might not

Postoji zapravo još jedan razlog

be looking for a universal sex pheromone there,

zašto tamo ne tražimo univerzalni seksualni feromon,

and that's because 20 percent of the world's population

a to je zato što 20% svjetske populacije

doesn't have smelly armpits like me.

nema „mirisne“ pazuhe poput mene.

And these are people from China, Japan,

A to su ljudi iz Kine, Japana,

Korea, and other parts of northeast Asia.

Koreje i drugih dijelova sjevernoistočne Azije.

They simply don't secrete those odorless precursors

Oni jednostavno ne luče one bezmirisne prekursore

that the bacteria love to use to produce the smells

koje bakterije vole iskorištavati za proizvodnju mirisa

that in an ethnocentric way we always thought of

koje smo u etnocentričnom smislu uvijek smatrali

as characteristic of armpits.

karakterističnima za pazuhe.

So it doesn't apply to 20 percent of the world.

Stoga se to ne može primijeniti na 20% svijeta.

So what should we be doing

Dakle, što bismo trebali raditi

in our search for human pheromones?

u našoj potrazi za ljudskim feromonima?

I'm fairly convinced that we do have them.

Poprilično sam uvjeren da ih imamo.

We're mammals, like everybody else

Sisavci smo, i kao svatko drugi

who's a mammal, and we probably do have them.

tko je sisavac, vjerojatno ih imamo.

But what I think we should do

No, ono što mislim da bismo trebali napraviti

is go right back to the beginning,

jest vratiti se na sam početak

and basically look all over the body.

i u biti tražiti po cijelome tijelu.

No matter how embarrassing,

Bez obzira koliko bilo neugodno,

we need to search and go for the first time

moramo tragati i prvi put ići

where no one else has dared tread.

onamo kamo se nitko nije usudio stupati.

It's going to be difficult,

Bit će teško,

it's going to be embarrassing, but we need to look.

bit će neugodno, no moramo tražiti.

We also need to go back to the ideas

Također se moramo vratiti idejama

that Butenandt used when he was studying the silk moth.

koje je Butenandt koristio pri proučavanju dudova svilca.

We need to go back and look systematically

Moramo ići unazad i sustavno sagledati

at all the molecules that are being produced,

sve molekule koje se stvaraju

and work out which ones are really involved.

i razlučiti koje su zbilja uključene.

It isn't good enough simply to pluck a couple

Nije dovoljno dobro jednostavno izabrati nekoliko

and say, "They'll do."

i reći: „One će poslužiti.“

We have to actually demonstrate

Moramo doista pokazati

that they really have the effects we claim.

da one zbilja imaju efekte koje tvrdimo da imaju.

There is one team that I'm actually very impressed by.

Postoji jedan tim koji me zbilja impresionira.

They're in France, and their previous success

Nalazi se u Francuskoj, i njihov prijašnji uspjeh

was identifying the rabbit mammary pheromone.

bio je identificiranje zečjeg mliječnog feromona.

They've turned their attention now

Sada su preusmjerili pažnju

to human babies and mothers.

na ljudske bebe i majke.

So this is a baby having a drink of milk

Ovo je dijete koje pije

from its mother's breast.

iz majčine dojke.

Her nipple is completely hidden

Njezina bradavica je u potpunosti

by the baby's head,

sakrivena bebinom glavom,

but what you'll notice is a white droplet

no primijetit ćete bijelu kapljicu

with an arrow pointing to it,

na koju ukazuje strelica,

and that's the secretion from the areolar glands.

a to je sekret iz areolarnih žlijezda.

Now, we all have them, men and women,

Svi ih imamo, muškarci i žene,

and these are the little bumps around the nipple,

i to su sitne kvržice oko bradavice,

and if you're a lactating woman,

a ako ste dojilja,

these start to secrete.

one počnu lučiti.

It's a very interesting secretion.

Vrlo je to zanimljiv sekret.

What Benoist Schaal and his team developed

Ono što je Benoist Schaal razvio sa svojim timom

was a simple test to investigate

jednostavan je test za utvrđivanje

what the effect of this secretion might be,

koji bi bio efekt te sekrecije,

in effect, a simple bioassay.

ustvari jednostavan biotest.

So this is a sleeping baby,

Ovo je beba koja spava,

and under its nose, we've put a clean glass rod.

i ispod njezina nosa stavili smo čisti stakleni štapić.

The baby remains sleeping,

Beba nastavlja spavati,

showing no interest at all.

ne pokazujući ikakvo zanimanje.

But if we go to any mother

No, ako od bilo koje majke

who is secreting from the areolar glands,

koja luči iz areolarnih žlijeda,

so it's not about recognition,

znači ne radi se o prepoznavanju,

it can be from any mother,

može biti od bilo koje majke,

if we take the secretion

ako uzmemo sekret

and now put it under the baby's nose,

i tada ga stavimo ispod bebina nosa,

we get a very different reaction.

dobivamo vrlo različitu reakciju.

It's a connoisseur's reaction of delight,

To je radosna reakcija znalca,

and it opens its mouth

beba otvara usta,

and sticks out its tongue

plazi jezik

and starts to suck.

i počinje sisati.

Now, since this is from any mother,

S obzirom da je ovo od bilo koje majke,

it could really be a pheromone.

mogao bi zbilja biti feromon.

It's not about individual recognition.

Nije do individualnog prepoznavanja.

Any mother will do.

Bilo koja majka će dostajati.

Now, why is this important,

Stoga, zašto je ovo važno,

apart from being simply very interesting?

osim što je jednostavno vrlo zanimljivo?

It's because women vary

Zato što žene variraju

in the number of areolar glands that they have,

u broju areolarnih žlijezda koje imaju,

and there is a correlation between the ease

i postoji korelacija između lakoće

with which babies start to suckle

kojom bebe započinju sisati

and the number of areolar glands she has.

i broja žlijezda koje ona ima.

It appears that the more secretions she's got,

Čini se da što više sekreta žena ima,

the more likely the baby is to suckle quickly.

vjerojatnije je da će beba brže početi sisati.

If you're a mammal,

Ako ste sisavac,

the most dangerous time in life

najopasnije vrijeme u životu

is the first few hours after birth.

prvih su nekoliko sati nakon rođenja.

You have to get that first drink of milk,

Morate dobiti taj prvi gutljaj mlijeka,

and if you don't get it, you won't survive.

a ako ga ne dobijete, nećete preživjeti.

You'll be dead.

Umrijet ćete.

Since many babies actually find it difficult

S obzirom da mnoge bebe zapravo imaju poteškoća

to take that first meal,

s uzimanjem tog prvog gutljaja,

because they're not getting the right stimulus,

zato što ne dobivaju adekvatan podražaj,

if we could identify what that molecule was,

kada bismo mogli identificirati o kojoj se molekuli radi,

and the French team are being very cautious,

a francuski je tim vrlo oprezan,

but if we could identify the molecule,

ali ako bismo mogli identificirati molekulu,

synthesize it, it would then mean

sintetizirati ju, to bi značilo

premature babies would be more likely to suckle,

da bi prijevremeno rođene bebe vjerojatnije sisale,

and every baby would have a better chance

i svaka bi beba imala veću šansu

of survival.

za preživljenje.

So what I want to argue is this is one example

Stoga, ono što želim argumentirati je ovaj jedan primjer

of where a systematic, really scientific approach

gdje sustavan, zaista znanstveni pristup

can actually bring you a real understanding

može stvarno dostaviti pravo

of pheromones.

Razumijevanje feromona.

There could be all sorts of medical interventions.

Moglo bi doći do raznih medicinskih intervencija.

There could be all sorts of things

Mogle bi postojati razne stvari

that humans are doing with pheromones

koje ljudi rade zbog feromona,

that we simply don't know at the moment.

a da to jednostavno ne znamo u trenutku.

What we need to remember is pheromones

Ono što trebamo zapamtiti jest da feromoni

are not just about sex.

nemaju samo veze sa seksom.

They're about all sorts of things to do

Imaju veze s raznim stvarima

with a mammal's life.

vezanima uz život sisavca.

So do go forward and do search for more.

Stoga napredujte i tražite dalje.

There's lots to find.

Ima puno toga za pronaći.

Thank you very much.

Puno vam hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)