The scientific reasons behind falling in love, according to a new research compilation

A new research compilation suggests that women wearing red clothes are a sure sign of sexual desire.

According to the findings of a Slovakian research study, women who wore the red color were more successful in mating game scenarios, reports the Times of India.

The study, which was conducted on couples who met on eHarmony, indicates that common personality traits are a key factor in influencing attraction between men and women. Another study by University of St. Andrews psychologist David Perrett suggests that the physical appearance of the parent of the opposite sex is also a factor in sexual attraction. A woman is more likely to go for a man who looks like her father and vice versa.

Smell is also a factor that dictates attraction between men and women, according to a University of Southern California study that was conducted on women who were ovulating. The study suggests that some women prefer the smell of shirts worn by men with high levels of testosterone, while others preferred men with a strong jaw line when they were ovulating.

The reasons get weirder with every study. One study, for instance, shows that hands and legs spread apart while talking indicates availability to the opposite sex. Staring into each other’s eyes for two minutes can also ignite feelings of love, said University of Massachusetts psychologist Joan Kellerman.

Interestingly, a team from the National Institute of Physiological Science (NIPS) in Japan has found that mutual eye contact synchronises spontaneous activity in specific areas of the brains of two interacting people, according to the Economic Times.

Meanwhile, a University of Michigan team conducted a study where women were asked to read stories about men. The results showed that women found men with dogs more attractive in the long term, indicating that they related love for dogs to loyalty and commitment.

Moreover, a French study has found music to be a vital part of sexual selection. More women were willing to give their numbers to men holding a guitar case, according to the study findings. Another Australian research found that women consider men with heavy stubble on faces more attractive than those with heavy beards, light stubble or clean shaven faces.

To further explore this topic, the team enrolled 96 volunteers who were not mutually acquainted and conducted tests to investigate brain activity during situations with sustained eye contact. Participants were paired with different partners and were instructed to hold each other's gaze in real time under various conditions. The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor the brain activity that took place during the mutual gaze.