Thursday, May 24, 2007
Booze, Sex, and Trite Shite
Salon has an astoundingly wordy article up about use of an extinct fennel by ancient Mediterranean cultures as an aphrodisiac and contraceptive. The short version: the ancient herb, silphium, was a source of great wealth to the few who controlled its wild harvest (the stuff didn't take to cultivation), and was, unsurprisingly, made soon extinct by over consumption. Cool!
Speaking of having sex without consequences, Minnesota researchers found that teen sex doesn't lead to more mental health problems, except in the youngest teens and even then only in those whose relationships dissolve soon thereafter. I feel like there's a cultural aspect to this which could be hiding here: if younger teens less are likely to get good support from their parents/friends because of taboos, wouldn't that explain increased emotional distress?
And on the topic of people we probably don't need to encourage to be any sluttier, an Argentine group found that Viagra may be helpful in alleviating jet lag. This could mean easier and speedier recovery for flight attendants, among others.
Last on sex, UK researchers seem to have found that sexual orientation affects gender-stereotyped cognitive task performance - lesbians do navigation tasks more like straight men, and gay men do them more like straight women. They also found that age affects men and womens' performance regardless of orientation. Interesting, but I'm not sure I buy their web-based study design.
And now, booze. Besides helping you get laid, it's good for you! A huge meta-study found that having about 2 drinks per day lowers your risk of kidney cancer, and one could slow your mental decline into senile dementia. Bottoms up!
More than a few papers have been covering the hell out of last week's 13th Historical Clinicopathological Conference, where researchers described how Abraham Lincoln might well have survived his assassination if only he'd had the benefit of an extra 142 years of medical science. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, I say. "still no cure for cancer."
Speaking of having sex without consequences, Minnesota researchers found that teen sex doesn't lead to more mental health problems, except in the youngest teens and even then only in those whose relationships dissolve soon thereafter. I feel like there's a cultural aspect to this which could be hiding here: if younger teens less are likely to get good support from their parents/friends because of taboos, wouldn't that explain increased emotional distress?
And on the topic of people we probably don't need to encourage to be any sluttier, an Argentine group found that Viagra may be helpful in alleviating jet lag. This could mean easier and speedier recovery for flight attendants, among others.
Last on sex, UK researchers seem to have found that sexual orientation affects gender-stereotyped cognitive task performance - lesbians do navigation tasks more like straight men, and gay men do them more like straight women. They also found that age affects men and womens' performance regardless of orientation. Interesting, but I'm not sure I buy their web-based study design.
And now, booze. Besides helping you get laid, it's good for you! A huge meta-study found that having about 2 drinks per day lowers your risk of kidney cancer, and one could slow your mental decline into senile dementia. Bottoms up!
More than a few papers have been covering the hell out of last week's 13th Historical Clinicopathological Conference, where researchers described how Abraham Lincoln might well have survived his assassination if only he'd had the benefit of an extra 142 years of medical science. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, I say. "still no cure for cancer."
Labels: alcohol, booze, cognition, contraception, death, dementia, history, neuroscience, sex, sexuality, teenagers, travel, Viagra
Monday, March 26, 2007
Angry Sex and Chocolate
No, it's not (just) what I did last night. A Leeds PhD candidate has written reveals, in her forthcoming thesis, the blindingly obvious fact that people liked porn even before the modern era (anyone surprised by this should take a Japanese art history class). Her work focused on erotic literature published in the 1700's in England, and she found that public and group readings were not uncommon, and that even the poor (who were considered illiterate because they could not write, but could read) were at least as big fans as the gentry. She also found that much of the material was, er, not especially complimentary towards women.
What they didn't have in the 18th century, on the other hand, was oral contraception. Unfortunately, it seems that modern women may also stop having that too, thanks to a 2005 Medicare-budget-slash which stopped incentives for pharmaceutical companies to provide pill discounts to school health facilities.
Once all of our current college students have their babies, they will have to worry about caring for them. Science, unfortunately, is no help there: studies indicate that good-quality child care is both good and bad for kids. I wonder what the actual research publications say (as opposed to whatThe Weekly ReaderUSA Today says).
What goes with sex? Anger! And testosterone. A study has found that viewing angry faces stimulate learning and cognitive performance in people with high testosterone. This really has little to do with sex, but it was fun to try and make the association.
To have sex at all, you want to be in good health. What's good for you? Chocolate!!! Another study has found that eating dark chocolate improves circulatory health, and doesn't necessarily lead to weight gain. Also, blueberries might help prevent bowel cancer. And aren't chocolate-covered blueberries an aphrodisiac?
What they didn't have in the 18th century, on the other hand, was oral contraception. Unfortunately, it seems that modern women may also stop having that too, thanks to a 2005 Medicare-budget-slash which stopped incentives for pharmaceutical companies to provide pill discounts to school health facilities.
Once all of our current college students have their babies, they will have to worry about caring for them. Science, unfortunately, is no help there: studies indicate that good-quality child care is both good and bad for kids. I wonder what the actual research publications say (as opposed to what
What goes with sex? Anger! And testosterone. A study has found that viewing angry faces stimulate learning and cognitive performance in people with high testosterone. This really has little to do with sex, but it was fun to try and make the association.
To have sex at all, you want to be in good health. What's good for you? Chocolate!!! Another study has found that eating dark chocolate improves circulatory health, and doesn't necessarily lead to weight gain. Also, blueberries might help prevent bowel cancer. And aren't chocolate-covered blueberries an aphrodisiac?
Labels: anger, child care, chocolate, cognition, college, contraception, emotion, erotica, kids, medicare, porn, pregnancy, pron, sex, testosterone, women
