Menopausal Women Settle For Less Sex

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More than half of U.S. women ages 35 and over are having less sex during menopause than before menopause. According to the recent Sex & Menopause Survey, commissioned by The Red Hot Mamas®, a leading menopause patient organization, sponsored by Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and conducted by Harris Interactive®, 54 percent of those polled reported a decrease in the frequency of sex after entering menopause.

Today's white rice is mutation spread by early farmers

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Researchers at Cornell and elsewhere have determined that 97.9 percent of all white rice is derived from a mutation (a deletion of DNA) in a single gene originating in the Japonica subspecies of rice.

Their report, published in the journal PloS Genetics, suggests that early farmers favored, bred and spread white rice around the world.

Delay Umbilical Cord Clamping For Three Minutes, Says Expert

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Clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord should be delayed for three minutes after birth, particularly for pre-term infants, suggests a senior doctor in this week’s BMJ.

Early clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord is widely practised as part of the management of labour, but recent studies suggest that it may be harmful to the baby. The rate of early cord clamping varies widely in Europe, from 17% of units in Denmark to 90% in France.

So Dr Andrew Weeks, a senior lecturer in obstetrics at the University of Liverpool, looked at the evidence behind cord clamping.

Last hope for Cambodia’s parachuting bird

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One of the world’s rarest birds is to be championed at an event in Britain this weekend in a last ditch attempt to save it from extinction.

The Bengal florican – the rarest of the globe’s 27 bustards - is amongst 189 critically endangered birds being targeted by an initiative to find companies and individuals who will highlight each species’ plight and contribute funds towards helping them.

We mispredict our emotions after decision making

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Behavioral research over the past 15 years has confirmed what anyone who has purchased a house or dumped a significant other could tell you: When people make decisions, they anticipate that they may regret their choices. It is important that we maintain this ability, because as the aforementioned house-buyers and spouse-dumpers know, regret can be a terrible feeling.

Is Bacterial Persistence a Social Trait?

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The ability of bacteria to evolve resistance to antibiotics has been much reported in recent years. It is less well-known that within populations of bacteria there are cells which are resistant due to a non-inherited phenotypic switch to a slow-growing state.

Plain soap as effective as antibacterial but without the risk

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Antibacterial soaps show no health benefits over plain soaps and, in fact, may render some common antibiotics less effective, says a University of Michigan public health professor.

Ecological Changes Forcing Vampire Bats To Attack Cattle

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Vampire bats live only in Central and South America and weigh 30 - 40 g. Vampires share food among unrelated group members, a behaviour known as reciprocal altruism, which vampire bats have in common with humans. However, sharing may be a lot tougher these days because of ecological changes.

Speeding Star Leaves Incredible Comet Tail

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NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer has spotted an amazingly long comet-like tail behind a star streaking through space at supersonic speeds. The star, named Mira after the Latin word for "wonderful," has been a favorite of astronomers for about 400 years. It is a fast-moving, older star called a red giant that sheds massive amounts of surface material.

First biomarker discovered that predicts prostate cancer outcome

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Mayo Clinic researchers have identified the first immune molecule that appears to play a role in prostate cancer development and in predicting cancer recurrence and progression after surgery. The report on the B7-H3 molecule by Mayo Clinic Cancer Center appears today in Cancer Research.