More attractive people may have a stronger immunity to Covid, according to a new study.
At this stage in the epidemic, not having caught any variants of coronavirus carries a certain arrogance; not because these ‘superheroes’ have been breaking the laws at whim over the previous two years, but because they’ve often followed the same measures as everyone else and seen them still test positive at one point or another.
Of all, at the end of the day, it’s just bad luck; you can put on the strongest mask you can find and spend the rest of your days locked away, but a chance transmission can happen to anyone. Alternatively, the ‘most attractive people,’ according to these researchers, have the best chance.
Researchers at Texas Christian University took pictures and blood samples of 79 women and 80 men for a new report published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The subjects’ facial attractiveness was then rated by nearly 500 volunteers.
‘Beauty standards, while occasionally interrupted by eccentricities, are frequently stable across time and geography. Clear complexion, prominent cheekbones, sparkling eyes, and big, red lips have been thought attractive throughout recorded human history, according to research. According to the report, “research shows a persistent preference for symmetrical and average faces.”
After assembling the ‘most attractive’ subjects based on the ratings, it was discovered that they possessed the most consistent biological immunity markers.
‘Results demonstrated that attractive targets (when compared to less attractive targets) had higher rates of E. coli bioparticle phagocytosis, higher basophil counts, lower neutrophil counts, better NK cell cytotoxicity, and slower rates of S. aureus growth in plasma; however, this effect was stronger in women,’ the paper says.
‘Given that so many attractiveness standards are shared by humans of all ages, races, and cultures, evolutionary scientists have argued that they may arise from perceptual adaptations that enhance successful mate choice.
‘As a result, attributes that humans universally regard as appealing may provide indications to unobservable qualities possessed by a target that affect fitness, such as health and immunological function,’ the researchers write.
The researchers feel that “facial beauty may give insights into one’s immune function,” and that “facial attractiveness may provide clues to their capacity to properly regulate viral risks and neoplastic progression” for males is particularly revealing. The report does acknowledge, however, that more research is needed to confirm these findings.
Perhaps the most attractive individuals are the ones who have caught Covid — this conclusion is brought to you by a man who hasn’t caught it but whose partner has.
