My picks from ScienceDaily

Male Reindeer Inflate Their Air Sac To Make Sexually Enticing Hoarse Rutting Calls:

A group of European scientists have determined that a male reindeer's air sac, influencing vocal sound and neck contour, may contribute to his sexual prowess and reproductive success. The results of this research have recently been published in Journal of Anatomy.

Laying Sleeping Sickness To Rest:

The parasite that leads to sleeping sickness can be lulled to sleep itself using a newly discovered pathway, according to research published online in EMBO reports (http://www.nature.com/embor/). Trypanosoma brucei is a parasite that causes sleeping sickness resulting in neurological damage and death.

Cocoa 'Vitamin' Health Benefits Could Outshine Penicillin:

The health benefits of epicatechin, a compound found in cocoa, are so striking that it may rival penicillin and anaesthesia in terms of importance to public health, reports Marina Murphy in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI. Norman Hollenberg, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told C&I that epicatechin is so important that it should be considered a vitamin. Hollenberg has spent years studying the benefits of cocoa drinking on the Kuna people in Panama. He found that the risk of 4 of the 5 most common killer diseases: stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes, is reduced to less then 10% in the Kuna. They can drink up to 40 cups of cocoa a week. Natural cocoa has high levels of epicatechin.

These Legs Were Made For Fighting: Human Ancestors Had Short Legs For Combat, Not Just Climbing:

Ape-like human ancestors known as australopiths maintained short legs for 2 million years because a squat physique and stance helped the males fight over access to females, a University of Utah study concludes. "The old argument was that they retained short legs to help them climb trees that still were an important part of their habitat," says David Carrier, a professor of biology. "My argument is that they retained short legs because short legs helped them fight."

Scientists Find Hormone Activity Explains Adolescent Mood Swings:

The "raging hormones" of puberty are known to produce mood swings and stress for most teenagers, making it difficult to cope with this period of life. Until now, the specific causes of pubertal anxiety have not been identified, making it harder to understand and treat adolescent angst. In the current edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience, researchers led by Sheryl S. Smith, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, report findings demonstrating that a hormone normally released in response to stress, THP, actually reverses its effect at puberty, when it increases anxiety.