Part II by Susan Holt Coordinating Mentor New York State Biology Mentor Network

Jean was annoyed. Laurie had treated her like a gullible sucker. That night she did some research on the website listed in the advertisement. The next day she gave Laurie copies of the information.

"I found more information about pheromones that I think you should read. This stuff should convince you that pheromones really are sexual attractants."

Laurie had decided to prove that Jean was wrong. She had also collected some information on human pheromones.

"The stuff that I read really didn't prove that pheromones work. Some people think it might work but they really don't have any evidence."

Questions

1. What is a pheromone? How do pheromones work? Do pheromones really affect human behavior?
2. What information in the articles supports the advertising claim?
3. What information in the articles makes the advertising claim questionable?
4. Based on this information, do you believe that the Athena pheromone really does what the ad claims?