Innovations in the game of love

From neurons to nanobytes, scientists are discovering more about why we fall in love, while technologists are discovering new ways to help us find the loves of our lives.

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The chemicals in the brain that govern addiction play a nearly identical role in love. "The brain activity that corresponds with those feelings of intense, euphoric pleasure, is similar to the way the brain responds to cocaine or heroin," neuroscientist David Linden writes.

Sarah L. Voisin / The Washington Post

Scientists are working on treatments involving the use of oxytocin to combat addictions, such as those to gambling or drugs. "We are starting to develop drugs to help individuals recover from addiction based on our understanding of the brain's reactions," writes neuroscientist David Linden. "This involves reducing cravings, which lead to relapse."

Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images

Cheek'd is a service that gives subscribers a way to transition from a spontaneous in-person contact to the Web. Cheek'd users hand out business cards to people they are interested in starting a relationship with, giving the recipient details on how to be in touch online via Cheek'd's Web site. Lorie Cheek, left, founder of Cheek'd, explains her start-up at the Tech Cocktail D.C. Mixer in June. Brennan McReynolds, co-founder of Re-Event, talks with Cheek'd card user Julianna Morais.

Evy Mages / For The Washington Post

Andrew Mason, founder and chief executive of Groupon, speaks at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco last September. Mason announced the creation of "Grouspawn," a dating assistant that encourages first-time daters to use Groupon's Web-based coupon service to qualify for a college scholarship for any children the couple may have.

Noah Berger / Bloomberg News

An iPhone timer keeps track as professionals host a June speed-dating event geared to South Asian/Indian singles at Zen Bistro and Wine Bar in Arlington.

Evy Mages / For The Washington Post

Suzanne Terry, right, with baby Blossom visits Amanda Brewer and baby Reed, every week to pick up extra breast milk in Fort Belvoir. The two met through a Facebook site called "Eats on Feets" which connects breast milk donors and recipients. Oxytocin is the chemical produced in mothers’ brains when they give birth and is a key ingredient when it comes to a mother developing the life-long bond with her child. Oxytocin nasal sprays are on the market to help women who have difficulty breastfeeding. The sprays effectively introduce the chemical into the bloodstream, helping to induce the “milk letdown reflex” necessary for nursing.

Linda Davidson / The Washington Post

Helen Fisher, center, is a biological anthropologist and chief scientific adviser for the dating Web site Chemistry.com, a division of Match.com. Here she chats with a man during a Match.com party in Tokyo in June 2009. Fisher is the author of multiple books on differences between the sexes, love, and the role personality plays in romantic relationships.

Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP/Getty Images

Psychologist Neil Clark Warren, right, the founder of dating Web site eHarmony, presents newlyweds Inge and Craig White of West Hollywood, Calif., with a wedding gift from Tiffany & Co. The gift was the first in the new Everlasting Love program, which celebrates the marriages of all the couples who met through eHarmony. Warren is the author of multiple books on why marriages fail and succeed.

/ PR Newswire

Jennifer Zimmermann and Arthur William toast in their limousine after their August wedding ceremony in Arlington. The couple met through eHarmony.

Evy Mages / For The Washington Post

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Terrorism cited in London cleaver attack

Two assailants hacked to death a man reported to be a British soldier on a busy East London street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an apparent...

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Statues on display on the Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden in The Great Pavilion at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on May 21, 2013 in London, England. The Chelsea Flower Show run by the RHS celebrates its 100th birthday this year. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Photos of the day

Chelsea Flower Show, face transplant in Poland, Oklahoma residents cope with tornado aftermath and more.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Lea Bessinger salvages a picture of Jesus as she and her son Josh Bessinger sort through the rubble of the elder Bessinger's tornado-ravaged home Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Moore, Okla. A huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening an entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Tornado near Oklahoma City causes more damage

Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a twister carved a long path of destruction in a suburb of Oklahoma City. It was part of the...

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 21: Ken Marino, Erica Oyama, Ben Stiller, Chris Harrison, and Mike Rosenstein aceept the Webby Award for 'Burning Love' at the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on May 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)

Eye on entertainment

Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Emma Stone, 2 Chainz, Tyrese Gibson, Susan Boyle and more.

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Okla. tornado loosely followed path of 1999 twister

Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the area in May 1999.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
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Ethiopia’s salt trail

For centuries, merchants have traveled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted...

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