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Lemurs on contraceptives don’t smell right

Birth control disrupts female odors that are important social cues

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Putting a female lemur on birth control turns her normally informative scents to nonsense, researchers report.

SCENTS OF THE MEETING Ring-tailed lemurs (shown here at the Duke University Lemur Center) negotiate their social lives with help from complex body scents, which new research shows are changed when females are given contraceptives.