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One in 13 teenage girls, aged 14 to 20, reported having a group-sex experience, with those young women more likely to have been exposed to pornography and childhood sexual abuse than their peers, according to a new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher.

December 16, 2011, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Shenzhen, China - A group of scientists from United Kingdom (UK), China and United Arab Emirates (UAE) jointly announced the complete sequencing of peregrine and saker falcons genomes at the 2nd International Festival of Falconry held in Al Ain, UAE. The study is a part of Falcon Genome Project, launched and funded by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) in this January.

Although the temperate climates of central Europe provide plentiful food in summer, finding enough to eat is much more problematic in winter. Many small mammals avoid the problem by hibernating but this survival strategy is generally not practised by larger animals. With the exception of some bears, large mammals remain fully awake throughout the year, yet they too must reduce their metabolism to cope with the comparative scarcity of food. Red deer, for example, are known to lower their heart rate and to allow their extremities to cool substantially during winter.

Adding inhaled dry powder mannitol to standard therapy for cystic fibrosis produced sustained improvement in lung function for up to 52 weeks, according to a new study. Along with the treatment's efficacy and good safety profile, the convenience and ease of administration of mannitol treatment may improve adherence with therapy in these patients.

The role of social structure in animal communication is hotly debated. Non-human primates seem to be born with a range of calls and sounds which is dependent upon their species. But overlying this there seems to be some flexibility - you can tell where a gibbon lives by its accent. New research published in Biomed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology used Campbell's monkeys to look in detail at the nature versus nurture question and showed that non-human primate 'language', like humans, is learnt.

Access to clean water is a necessity often taken for granted. However UNICEF estimates that 900 million people across the world do not have access to safe drinking water. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Biotechnology shows that an enteric virus-binding protein (EVBP), isolated from bacteria found in activated sludge, is able to capture viruses often present in contaminated water.

A team of scientists and clinicians, led by researchers at King's College London and St George's, University of London, are calling for a review of penicillin dosing guidelines for children, as the current guidelines have remained unchanged for nearly 50 years.

The call comes as a study published in the British Medical Journal indicates some children may not be receiving effective doses, which could potentially lead to failed treatment and contribute to antibiotic resistance.

Men aged 70 and older can elude the Grim Reaper by walking at speeds of at least 3 miles (or 5km) an hour, finds a study in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today.

The authors say that for the first time they have estimated the speed at which the Grim Reaper usually walked: about 1.8 miles per hour. He never walked faster than 3 miles per hour.

With a risk of traumatic death far higher than the national average, rural life may not be so idyllic in Ambridge, the fictitious village in the BBC radio series, The Archers, finds research in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today.

However, the study also shows that the overall mortality rate in Ambridge is slightly lower than the country as a whole, so characters should not worry unduly. Those who do not perish in a hideous accident have a good chance of living for a long time.

Doctors in Manchester spotted a rare condition in a football fan after hearing about her unusual symptoms while watching her team Manchester United play.

They describe what happened in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today.

The 58 year old woman would suffer from episodes of anxiety, palpitations, panic, light headedness, and a sense of impending doom towards the end of high-profile matches at Old Trafford, Manchester United's home ground.

Highlights

Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, The New York Botanical Garden, and New York University have created the largest genome-based tree of life for seed plants to date. Their findings, published today in the journal PLoS Genetics, plot the evolutionary relationships of 150 different species of plants based on advanced genome-wide analysis of gene structure and function.

Scientists have found a gene that causes Weaver syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that typically causes large size at birth, tall stature, developmental delay during childhood, and intellectual disability. Published today in the American Journal of Human Genetics, the discovery means that testing the EZH2 gene for mutations could help families who are seeking a diagnosis for their child.

Hamilton, ON (Dec. 15, 2011) – Regular exercise tends to steeply decline among youth as they move to university or college, according to a study by researchers at McMaster University.

Researchers found a 24 per cent decrease in physical activity over the 12 years from adolescence to early adulthood. The steepest declines were among young men entering university or college.

• Many young adults in the U.S. visit hospital emergency departments (EDs) for alcohol-related problems.
• A new study has found that text messaging (TM) can be used to both assess drinking and deliver brief alcohol interventions to young adults discharged from the ED.