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Tag: Cornell University

  • Cornell study suggests scent can predict platonic chemistry in minutes, and conversations may reshape what we smell

    New research from Cornell University suggests that scent plays a measurable role in how quickly strangers decide whether they could become friends. The study found that, within minutes, people’s reactions to another person’s everyday smell aligned with their impressions after a brief face-to-face chat.

    The work, published in Scientific Reports, examined how odor-based preferences interact with early social encounters. Researchers focused on friendship formation rather than romantic attraction, an area that has historically dominated social olfactory research.

    How the speed-friending test worked

    The study recruited heterosexual women who took part in four-minute speed-friending conversations. Participants also evaluated the everyday scent of other participants using T-shirts that had absorbed their normal, day-to-day odor.

    Researchers reported that individual, highly personal scent preferences predicted how much participants liked their interaction partners after the short conversations. Those patterns were not driven by a single universally appealing or unpleasant smell, but by idiosyncratic taste that varied by person.

    Everyday odor, not lab-made purity

    Instead of isolating a so-called natural body odor, the research leaned into what the authors describe as a signature scent shaped by daily life. That includes choices such as hygiene products, household environment, pets, and other common exposures that can influence how someone smells in real settings.

    In that sense, the study frames scent as part of a broader social signal people carry into first meetings, even if they are not consciously aware of it. The findings suggest smell is registered alongside conversation cues, body language, and other first-impression factors.

    Can a chat change how someone smells?

    One of the most notable findings was that the interaction appeared to work both ways. Participants’ ratings from the live conversation predicted shifts in how they later judged that same person’s T-shirt scent.

    That pattern suggests social experience can reshape odor perception, linking a person’s smell to the quality of the encounter. The researchers argue this feedback loop may help explain why people sometimes warm to someone over time, including on a sensory level.

    While the study focuses on a specific group and a controlled experimental design, it adds to evidence that scent influences social bonding beyond dating. The authors say future work could test whether similar effects appear across broader populations and in more natural social settings.

  • Study suggests strong social ties may slow biological aging, with epigenetic clocks offering new clues

    Study suggests strong social ties may slow biological aging, with epigenetic clocks offering new clues

    Building strong relationships throughout life — from loving parents in childhood to close friends, active communities, and faith involvement in adulthood — may actually slow how the body ages. Researchers suggest that these “social advantages” can influence biological aging markers known as epigenetic clocks, which track changes in DNA methylation. People who enjoy more supportive and connected lives often appear biologically younger than their chronological age.

    Long-Term Study Links Social Advantage to Youthful Biology

    The findings were published in the October issue of Brain, Behavior and Immunity — Health and draw on data from over 2,100 adults who participated in the long-running Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study.

    Anthony Ong, a psychology professor at Cornell University, and his colleagues discovered that people with greater “cumulative social advantage” — a measure of lifelong social and emotional support — tended to show slower biological aging and reduced chronic inflammation.

    Measuring the Pace of Aging

    The study examined two leading measures of biological age, called GrimAge and DunedinPACE. Both are epigenetic clocks that scientists use to predict health risks and life expectancy. Participants with richer and more consistent social relationships displayed younger biological profiles on both measures.

    “Cumulative social advantage is really about the depth and breadth of your social connections over a lifetime,” Ong said. “We looked at four key areas: the warmth and support you received from your parents growing up, how connected you feel to your community and neighborhood, your involvement in religious or faith-based communities, and the ongoing emotional support from friends and family.”

    The Biology of Connection

    The researchers hypothesized that sustained social advantage becomes reflected in core regulatory systems linked to aging, including epigenetic, inflammatory and neuroendocrine pathways. Remarkably, they found that higher social advantage was linked to lower levels of interleukin-6, a pro-inflammatory molecule implicated in heart disease, diabetes and neurodegeneration. Interestingly, however, there were no significant associations with short-term stress markers like cortisol or catecholamines.

    Why Lifelong Relationships Matter

    Unlike many earlier studies that looked at social factors in isolation — whether a person is married, for example, or how many friends they have — this work conceptualized “cumulative social advantage” as a multidimensional construct. And by combining both early and later-life relational resources, the measure reflects the ways advantage clusters and compounds.

    “What’s striking is the cumulative effect — these social resources build on each other over time,” Ong said. “It’s not just about having friends today; it’s about how your social connections have grown and deepened throughout your life. That accumulation shapes your health trajectory in measurable ways.”

    Connection as a Form of Investment

    This doesn’t mean a single friendship or volunteer stint can turn back the biological clock. The authors suggest that the depth and consistency of social connection, built across decades and different spheres of life, matters profoundly. The study adds weight to the growing view that social life is not just a matter of happiness or stress relief but a core determinant of physiological health.

    “Think of social connections like a retirement account,” Ong said. “The earlier you start investing and the more consistently you contribute, the greater your returns. Our study shows those returns aren’t just emotional; they’re biological. People with richer, more sustained social connections literally age more slowly at the cellular level. Aging well means both staying healthy and staying connected — they’re inseparable.”