Kayt Sukel, contributor

In The Chemistry Between Us, neuroscientist Larry Young and journalist Brian Alexander examine the neurobiological roots of love

THERE is a reason most of us sigh into our drinks when Cole Porter croons, "What is this thing called love?" We understand his befuddlement all too well. (And let's face it: if a man about town like Porter couldn't figure out this whole love thing, what hope is there for the rest of us mere mortals?)

That's why it is encouraging to know that in the past two decades social neuroscientists have been diligently working to unravel the mysteries of love - including the phenomena of attraction, monogamy and the parent-child bond - using techniques such as brain imaging, genome-wide association studies and transgenic animal models. In The Chemistry Between Us, Larry Young, the director of Emory University's Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, and journalist Brian Alexander offer a novel take on many of those findings.

A few recent books, including my own, Dirty Minds, have chronicled love and sex-related efforts in neuroscience. One of the criticisms of many of these tomes is that they fail to take on the functional "why" questions - why monogamy exists at all, for example, or why some people are more prone to infidelity. In The Chemistry Between Us, Young and Alexander do not shy away from proposing some strong hypotheses about the ways our neurobiology shapes our behaviour when it comes to the "L" word.

Drawing on real stories as well as research, the authors take the reader on a fascinating journey through strip clubs, Romanian orphanages and labs where rodents are regularly stimulated with lubed paintbrushes. These myriad adventures provide a great context for the science - and cleverly illustrate all the ways in which love and sex can make changes to our brain chemistry.

While those who closely follow the latest neurobiological research concerning love and sex might not find many new studies in this mix, they will find a rather unique interpretation of how they all fit together.

Young, who is arguably one of most prolific researchers in the social neuroscience field, plants his flag firmly: he argues that love is truly an addiction and one to which none of us are immune. He takes a reductionist approach, focusing on molecules like dopamine, oxytocin and vasopressin, and examining how these chemicals exploit ancient neurobiological circuits.

Some may feel uncomfortable when Young and Alexander claim that sex tricks women into "babysitting" the men they love - nurturing them as they would their own infants, thanks to the goodly amounts of oxytocin released during the sex act by men hitting the cervix with their large penises and playing with their breasts. Sceptics probably won't feel much better when Young and Alexander postulate that vasopressin helps men see their female partners as simply extensions of their territory.

Still, the authors don't back down. "Many would like to believe that such notions are outdated stereotypes," they write. "They're not. We can fake it, but nature gets the last word." Not overly concerned with political correctness, Young and Alexander even go so far as to extend these hypotheses to touch on modern issues like marriage equality and single motherhood.

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What is this thing called love? Mere chemical trickery

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith

Two UC Santa Barbara professors have been named recipients of the American Chemical Societys 2013 national awards for professionaladvancement. Peter C. Ford, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Craig J. Hawker, also a professor in the Department of chemistry and Biochemistry,professor of materials, and director of the Materials Research Laboratory, have been named among the 64 award winners from across the country

In only one other year, 1996, did UCSB have more than one winner of theAmerican Chemical Society (ACS) awards. The awards will be presented at the nationalACS meeting in New Orleans in April.Ford is the recipient of the ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry. This award recognizes individuals who haveadvanced inorganic chemistry by significant service, in addition to performingoutstanding research. It is sponsored by StremChemicals.

I am of course very pleased and honored to have received this award from my colleagues in the American Chemical Society, saidFord.

Since this is largely in recognition of the body of work generated by my graduate and postdoctoral students and collaborators over my tenure at UCSB, I consider it an award to my research group collectively as well as another testament to the high regard in which this campus is nowheld. I am proud to be aGaucho.

Hawker has been named recipient of the ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry. Thecitation states that Hawker was nominated for transforming the field of polymer chemistry through the clever adaptation of synthetic organic chemistry concepts and theadvancement of macromolecular engineering. ExxonMobil Chemical Company sponsored thisaward.

I am thrilled with the award and the recognition that it brings to my students, collaborators, and co-workers, as well as to the unique research environment at UCSB, said Hawker. The sustained success of cross-disciplinary research has been a key driver in reinforcing UCSBs international standing in the materials chemistry arena. I am grateful for the enormous benefits that this proud tradition has bought to myresearch.

Ford joined the faculty at UCSB in 1967 after earning his Ph.D. at Yale and completing a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship with Nobel laureateHenry Taube at Stanford University. He is a Fellow of the American Association for theAdvancement of Science and was a Senior Fulbright Fellow. His awards include a Dreyfus Foundation Teacher-Scholar Award in 1972; the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Senior U.S. Scientist Award in 1992; the Richard C. Tolman Medal of theACS in 1993; and the Inter-American Photochemical Society Award in Photochemistry in2008.

Hawker received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, and then completeda postdoctoral fellowship with Jean M. J. Frchet at Cornell. In 2004, he moved from theIBM Almaden Research Center to join the faculty at UCSB. Some of his recent awardsinclude the 2012 Centenary prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry; the 2011 Arthur C. Cope Scholar from the American Chemical Society; and the 2008 DSM PerformanceMaterials Award from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. In 2010,he was named a Fellow of the RoyalSociety.

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UCSB Professors Receive National Chemistry Awards

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith