THE LEFT LANE
People in the news

DOBELLE: The "quiet calm of a tsunami"

Looking for a way off the island to do something ... different? How about a mustard festival? You can win a trip for four to the Napa Valley Mustard Festival, March 15-17, if your child can "mustard up the sweetest smile" for French's mustard.

To enter the contest, send a photo of a smiling child, along with up to 50 words about why the smile is picture perfect. Include the child's favorite mustard flavor (honey mustard is a popular choice for those claiming sweetness). Mail to: French's Mustard Sweetest Smile Contest, 546 Valley Road, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043, or e-mail it to pr@bhgpr.com. The deadline is Feb. 28. For details and rules, log onto www.bhgpr.com.

Smells like Dad

Women really may prefer a man like dear old Dad, scientists report. Well, at least one who smells like Dad. In recent years, research has shown in blind "smell tests" that women favor scents from their mates over others. Now, a study examining such favoritism finds that genes that women inherit from their fathers may play a big role.

In the study, a University of Chicago research team asked 49 women to sniff boxes containing a single T-shirt, each worn by one of six men of diverse backgrounds. "They were very mild smells," says team member Martha McClintock. No one man emerged as the most pleasant smelling in the study, reported in the February Nature Genetics. Instead, the women favored men who had immune-system genes similar to their own. The analysis showed those genes had been inherited from the women's fathers. "The story is growing that genes influence our behavior in a big way," says Wayne Potts of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. For instance, immune-system genes might be involved in choosing mates and friends, and in identifying kin.