New Scientist's Linda Geddes decided to try out two compatibility-testing services to put her relationship to the test. A scientist, though, she wasn't about to use a simple questionnaire. She was looking at DNA.
Geddes worked with two companies that, for rather high fees, will test your DNA for compatibility tied to scent, which studies show women and men seemingly use to find compatible but dissimilar DNA. She tested her fiancé's DNA with her own, as well as the DNA of several male colleagues. It showed that she was reasonably compatible with her fiancé and several of her colleagues — including one she found attractive.
She then took it a step further and replicated a study in which women sniffed the worn shirts of different men to rate the attractiveness of the shirts owner. Her put-upon colleagues submitted worn shirts for comparison and, surprisingly, found that the men with whom she was told she was most compatible also smelled the best to her and the man with whom she was not smelled the worst! Success!
Of course, it's all moot if you don't like someone with whom you're genetically compatible, but that's okay. Not even the owner of the companies she used would have told her to end a happy relationship over the results. They consider themselves just another dating service — a way to have someone weed people out for you, in effect. At $200 for individuals and $300 for couples to get tested, though, it's a pretty pricey dating service.
DNA Dating: Can Genes Help You Pick A Mate? [New Scientist]