<ul><li>Two heterosexual women meeting for the first time rely partly on scent to judge whether they want to be friends with each other.</li><li>Social olfactory research suggests that subtle chemical signals and scent play a role in our attraction towards others.</li><li>The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, critical for immune system function, influence mate preferences in different species, including humans.</li><li>Previous studies have shown that women tend to prefer T-shirt smells of men with the most dissimilar MHCs to their own, except for women taking oral birth control.</li></ul>

Women rely partly on smell when choosing friends

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