10 Aug 2020
Setting it Straight: Shapely interactions and love at first sight in the enduring Ig landscape
Setting it Straight - Issue #19
Written by Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty
The perception of shape and form, the anatomical characteristics of fellow human beings are central to much of the way we interact, especially on initial contact. In the dryness of science-speak, ‘love at first sight’ could be thought of as a manifestation of visually-determined affinity for a particular mix of ‘conformational determinants’: smile, face, figure and, of course, style – from dress to the tilt of the head and the way that very particular person stands and walks. Just as in immunity, we could talk about innate (inborn) versus acquired, or learned (adaptive) responses. Some of that ‘love at first sight’ reaction will depend on our chemically-adjusted (hormones) biology, some will likely be informed by good or bad memories of others we’ve known.