[David Munch]

Originally Posted by Harper Kingsley

Thanks so much. I know the idea of human pheromones affecting people are probably bunk, but that's why I write fiction So I went from the article to Wikipedia entries and I think I've put together a halfway workable idea:

Humans produce androstenone but are too insensitive to smell it. Most adult humans produce something resembling the vomeronasal organ, but there's no actual function. Plus we lack the sensory cells that other animals have to detect pheromones beyond a stinky smell, we don't have the genetic ability to produce those cells.

Well, since pheromones are unproven, but speculated to exist, you could in theory just pick any endohormone that is known to be upregulated during maturity, and spin a story on it.

It wouldn't be very far fetched, and quite plausible..

So if prenatal exposure to something were to cause a mutation that resulted in a working vomeronasal organ, humans would be attracted by pheromones. Then for the "fated love" angle, there's some hyperosmia toward specific people, and when you meet "the one," it kicks in just toward that person and their pheromones become overwhelming. At that point, the person experiences anosmia toward the pheromones of anyone that's not their mate, which means they have no libido toward them. Otherwise, normal sense of smell remains.

There you are... Sounds like a scientific explanation to that thing that happens in the Twilight series.. :P

Wow, this one article has spawned like three ideas in my brain

Awesome!