OK, so maybe ASAP Science's “Can Science Improve Your Sex Life?” video might not be a game changer in and of itself; the information contained with it, however? Let's just say it's got potential. Listen up — you're not going to want to miss this. Everyone deserves to have awesome sex, right?
According to ASAP Science, humans have been trying to enhance their sexual performance and experiences pretty much since the dawn of time — but for all their purported benefits, aphrodisiacs actually don't have much scientific evidence to support them. Ultimately, you can eat all the oysters you want (and you should if you're not vegetarian, because they're delicious); just don't expect them to result in a magical and insatiable desire for sex. Furthermore, Viagra is of limited usefulness: While it does promote blood flow to the penis and helps sustain erections, it won't actually help a guy's libido — and it does absolutely nothing for women. We appreciate what you're doing, Viagra, but unfortunately, it may not be quite enough.
So what are we to do? Stumble upon an accidental scientific discovery that could help everyone everywhere have terrific sex, of course. The key word is "melanocortin." Here's the deal summed up in three pictures; scroll down to watch the full video.
1. What Happens When You're Turned On?
First, we need to understand what happens when our engines get going — which, it turns out, is lots of stuff. When something flicks that fun little switch, your brain and your nervous system send signals down to your pelvis that cause blood vessels to dilate; additionally, your heart rate kicks into high gear, and your brain releases two hormones — norepinephrine and dopamine — that tell the rest of your body that you're feeling pretty darn awesome.
2. Tell Me About This "Melanocortin" of Which You Speak
Here's where the fun starts: While researching sunless tanning agents (sexy, right?), scientists discovered melanocortin, a protein that exists in your brain and helps control skin pigmentation, has some added benefits: When injected with 10 milligrams of the synthetic version of this protein, dudes tend to get instant and unstimulated erections that last for a whopping eight hours. Unfortunately, they also get nauseous. After making this miraculous discovery, the scientists experimented with the dosage, eventually arriving at the perfect number: 1.25 milligrams brought on the sexyfuntimes erections without any of the “guys, I think I'm going to throw up” side effects.
3. Does It Work on Women, Too?
Yes! It does! Or at least, it probably will. When female rats were injected with the synthetic version of melanocortin along with a few other hormones, they began to display mating behaviors in front of male rats (which include ear wiggling, hilariously enough).
There's one catch, of course: None of this has been approved for public usage yet. But it's super promising, especially since it works for both men and women; a commercial version is currently undergoing clinical trials, so here's hoping it passes.
Watch the full video below for all the details:
Images: ASAP Science/YouTube (3)
