Lily of The Valley Phenomenon
See also: bourgeonalThe odor of lily of the valley, specifically the ligand bourgeonal, attracts mammal sperm in a dramatic manner. The 2003 discovery of this phenomenon prompted a new wave of research into odor reception, but no evidence was found that the female sex organ has similar odors of any kind. A 2012 study demonstrated instead that at high concentrations, bourgeonal imitated the role of progesterone in stimulating sperm to swim (chemotaxis), a process unrelated to odor reception.
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Famous quotes containing the words lily of the, lily of, lily, valley and/or phenomenon:
“I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. As a lily among brambles, so is my love among maidens. As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Song of Solomon 2:1-3.
“It is not growing like a tree
In bulk, doth make man better be,
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May
Although it fall and die that night;
It was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see,
And in short measures life may perfect be.”
—Ben Jonson (15721637)
“Happy ye leaves! whenas those lily hands,
Which hold my life in their dead-doing might,
Shall handle you, and hold in loves soft bands,”
—Edmund Spenser (1552?1599)
“Ah! I have penetrated to those meadows on the morning of many a first spring day, jumping from hummock to hummock, from willow root to willow root, when the wild river valley and the woods were bathed in so pure and bright a light as would have waked the dead, if they had been slumbering in their graves, as some suppose. There needs no stronger proof of immortality. All things must live in such a light. O Death, where was thy sting? O Grave, where was thy victory, then?”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
“If you could choose your parents,... we would rather have a mother who felt a sense of guiltat any rate who felt responsible, and felt that if things went wrong it was probably her faultwed rather have that than a mother who immediately turned to an outside thing to explain everything, and said it was due to the thunderstorm last night or some quite outside phenomenon and didnt take responsibility for anything.”
—D.W. Winnicott (20th century)