It’s a rare occasion when a scientist can test a theory outside the confines of a laboratory. So when Paul Zak got a call from New Scientist reporter Linda Geddes to take her blood at her wedding, he just couldn’t say no.
Dr. Zak is an ocytoxin researcher who studies social indicators of the love hormone.
Geddes and her groom-to-be offered their wedding (and a few guests) as guinea pigs in this science experiment. The goal? See if oxytocin is released by friends and family witnessing this momentous event or if the hormone release is limited to bride and groom being bonded.
Geddes writes about the experiment in a New Scientist editorial.
Photo by John Hurst, courtesy of New Scientist.
