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July 2007 · Findings · Previous · Next   PDF

Hex signs

By Roger D. Hodge

A study of physical abnormalities among birds living near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in Ukraine concluded that human birth defects in the region are probably caused by radiation rather than the stress of relocation, the explanation preferred by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Scientists suggested that mobile phones and other gadgetry might be responsible for the collapse of bee populations, which could result in massive worldwide food shortages. Experts warned that the recent biofuels trend could lead to increased food prices and deforestation, and the United States Department of Agriculture said that U.S. farmers might have a hard time meeting food demands because of the growing biofuels market. A study concluded that pollution from ethanol might kill more people than old-fashioned smog and could be especially hazardous for people with respiratory diseases. A new climate model predicted that summer temperatures in the eastern United States could rise by 10 degrees by 2080, and the head of a climate research group warned his colleagues that exaggerated warnings about the dangers of global warming may be counterproductive if they generate feelings of resignation and apathy in the face of a hopeless catastrophe.

German researchers studying the evolutionary aspects of sex found that 60 percent of thirty-year-old women desire frequent sex with their partners at the outset of a relationship; within four years, however, fewer than half do, and after twenty years only about 20 percent want regular sex. Ninety percent of the women studied (and a mere 25 percent of the men) seek “tenderness” from their mates. Women are more likely than men to ogle the genitals of a member of the opposite sex, a study found, though in general people are more attracted to faces than to bodies. Primates who engage in greater male-on-male competition devote more brain matter to aggression, whereas gentler species, in which males and females tend to mix socially, have bigger brains and higher-level thinking. People who have enjoyed oral sex with more than five people are 250 times more likely to develop throat cancer, and men who practice S&M score higher on tests of psychological well-being. Scientists found that exposure to dirt enhances one’s mood and boosts the immune system. Kryptonite was discovered in Serbia.

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