Ecochemistry of Life: Mammalian Chemical Signals

The exact sciences are especially interested in the question of whether the qualities of organisms and their behaviour can be explained by the qualities and the behaviour of molecules. According to August Kekulé (1829–1896), who described chemistry as the science of material metamorphoses, chemistry can explain the behaviour of organisms by the behaviour of matter. These material metamorphoses enrich the molecular programme mammals use to communicate, to create their habitat and to preserve it. Although we have been inquiring into the communication substances of insects and mammals for 30 years, chemists continue to investigate the signal substances that determine the behaviour of mammals.