Some data have shown, not quite conclusively, that the major histocompatibility complex profile of a man plays some role in the type of woman he attracts. Women prefer non-matching MHC profiles, sometimes, but not all the time. These preferences haven't been followed up much in those aspects that go beyond simple mate choice. A newly published study in linkurl:__Psychological Science__;http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0956-7976&site=1 looked at 48 couples in long-term relationships (median 17 months, range 1 month to 12 years). Based on a genetic test and questionnaires, they found that as MHC sharing at three alleles increased, females were less sexually responsive to their partners and reported more sexual partners outside of the relationship. The effect was stronger when the women were in their fertile period and extended from such things as whether a woman found their partner sexy, to how often they rejected a partner's attempts to initiate sex, to how many orgasms...
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