News you can use, from The Times of London

Fate of a couple is sealed with first kiss
Lewis Smith, Science Reporter

It is a moment of high anxiety in any romantic relationship. But now researchers have found that the first kiss may be even more important than anyone suspected.

While a kiss may just be a kiss for a man, for a woman it’s an all-important means of gauging a prospective partner’s compatability. She uses it, the study suggests, to assess a “rich and complex exchange” of romantic and chemical clues that pass between partners as their lips touch.

A “good kiss” will help convince her that the partner is worth persevering with but a man who is judged to be a bad kisser is unlikely to find himself invited in for coffee.

In the longer term the woman treats kissing as a means to induce bonding and to help her assess whether her partner has remained faithful and interested.

For men the kiss is much less important. It might be a source of hormonal information but it’s mostly regarded as a preliminary to sex. A man tends to regard a good kiss as one in which he’s allowed to use his tongue and is rewarded with moans of pleasure, the study found.

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