Well, this is interesting that scientists have finally discovered the reason behind why women are more scared of mice than men. A study by McGill University in Montreal has revealed that smell of a man nearby, makes the rodents feel more agitated, but presence of a woman makes the rodents kind of nonchalant.

The researchers provided enough scientific evidence to prove their claims, showing production of a stress hormone in mice and rats because of presence of male experimenters. The intensity of stress hormone in mice and rats because of male presence was the same when the rodents are restrained for 15 minutes in a tube or are forced to swim for three minutes.

The researchers said that its the smell that tells mice and rats whether the person is a male or a female. So, if a woman wears the same shirt previously worn by a man, then the rodents will have the same reaction towards the woman as they have for a man.

Rodents have been used for long by researchers in labs for experiments that include development of cancer drugs, testing of dietary supplements and advancement of medical procedures.

However, the findings of the new study clearly suggests that male presence must have had influenced test results because of release of stress hormones in rats and mice used for researches. As a result of stress, pain is reduced, which again means that presence of males in the room makes mice and rats feel less pain than what they feel while surrounded by women researchers.

"Scientists whisper to each other at conferences that their rodent research subjects appear to be aware of their presence, and that this might affect the results of experiments, but this has never been directly demonstrated until now", said Psychology professor Jeffrey Mogil, who conducted the study.