Reproductive Health
clock | April 23, 2009I loved Mary Roach's 'Stiff' when it first came out, so I was excited to see that Sheril started a book club reading the third book, Bonk, by the same author. My copy just arrived, so I will be participating as much as I can find the time.
Some of my SciBlings have already read and reviewed the book, e.g., SciCurious, or have the book and intend to read it, like Brian and Dr.Joan.
Sheril introduces the book here and begins the club, strangely with Chapter 5, here. Join in.
clock | April 2, 2009
Look what came in the mail yesterday! The Art and Politics of Science by Harold Varmus and, since he is in some way my boss, with a very nice personal inscription inside the cover. I am excited and already started reading it.
And speaking o Varmus, he seems to be everywhere. See this article in TimesOnline:
A major investment in fighting tropical infections and chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes in poor countries would transform international perceptions of the US, according to Harold Varmus, who co-chairs the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology.
In an…
clock | February 3, 2009From SCONC:
Even if you haven't heard of Bisphenol A (BPA), you've likely been exposed to it. The endocrine disrupting compound is common in plastic infant bottles, water bottles, food cans and lots of other products. Scientists debate its dangers but the National Toxicology Program (based in RTP) acknowledges BPA as a source of "some concern" due to its possible harm to the brains and behavior of fetuses, infants and children.
On Wed. Feb. 18, at noon, come hear NCSU assistant biology professor Heather Patisaul share what she's finding about BPA's potential permanent effects in a talk…
clock | November 27, 2008Serbian Ministry of Health, as part of their fight against AIDS, inserted a condom inside a women's magazine this month. The condom is German-made, named "Bumper-Bumper" and in a fun-looking package:
[Image from]
The timing is unfortunate (I'm sure it was planned months in advance and was too difficult to pull back at the last moment) - this was mailed out just 2-3 days after a guy in Belgrade killed his wife - a pretty brutal case of domestic violence that everyone is talking about (this is not something that happens often there).
Question #1: Why are condoms not sent to men? Are the…
clock | November 2, 2008An Evolutionary Look at Sperm Holds Secrets of Mobility, Fertility:
The fusion of sperm and egg succeeds in mammals because the sperm cells hyperactivate as they swim into the increasingly alkaline female reproductive tract. One fast-moving sperm drives on through the egg's fertilization barrier.
Mammals have sperm with a tail that reacts when calcium ions enter a microscopic channel in the tail and make the sperm go into overdrive. In fact, four genes are needed to produce the so-called CatSper ion channel in the sperm tail that hypermotivates the sperm. The CatSper genes may someday be…
clock | September 29, 2008Amanda is in the middle of reading Michael Kimmel's Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men and has posted the first, preliminary review, with some very interesting explorations by the commenters as well (I guess the MRAs did not get there yet to ruin the discussion). The review is focusing on the societal gender roles as the cause of the hook-up culture as well as the perception of it as being negative.
Much younger, sarahmeyers looks at the setting for the hook-up culture and identifies her own - highly urban, career-oriented, highly-connected (online and offline).
Possibly…
clock | July 26, 2008Discussed at these sites, among others:Chart junk-iesWhen bar charts go badWorld's Most Expensive Places to Have Sex.
Catch the flaw(s).
Click here to see large.
Go under the fold to see small:
clock | July 25, 2008I have not done a Friday Weird Sex Blogging post in ages, and I won't do today either, but others did some cool blogging on various related topics: from gender disparities, to gynecological procedures, to weird animal/plant sex, so here is a little collection for this weekend:
My take on Mr. Tierney's article:
Again, I can't predict what the gender breakdown of any profession would be if we didn't live in a rather patriarchal society. Maybe it wouldn't be 50/50 if everything else was equal. But it's not. I hate to use the P-word, but consider the environment our girls are being raised in.…
clock | June 15, 2008I briefly noted this study yesterday, but now W. D. Craft analyzes it in great detail:
I am pessimistic that the authors' more careful conclusions and recommendations will be noticed. Instead I fear we're in for more naive calls for "abstinence education" and coerced virginity pledges.
clock | May 5, 2008You really think I am going to put this above the fold? No way - you have to click (First posted on July 7, 2006):
Today's lesson is on the reproductive anatomy of the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica), which probably applies to the wild species in the pig family as well. Although we may reflexively think about invertebrates when pondering diversity of copulatory organs, mammals are not too bad in that department either. After all, the sperm is delivered in some species into the vagina (e.g., dog), in others into the cervix (e.g., pig) and in yet others into the uterus (e.g., horse), so…
clock | May 4, 2008
When teaching human or animal physiology, it is very easy to come up with examples of ubiqutous negative feedback loops. On the other hand, there are very few physiological processes that can serve as examples of positive feedback. These include opening of the ion channels during the action potential, the blood clotting cascade, emptying of the urinary bladder, copulation, breastfeeding and childbirth. The last two (and perhaps the last three!) involve the hormone oxytocin. The childbirth, at least in humans, is a canonical example and the standard story goes roughly like this:
When the…
clock | March 13, 2008Lindsay Beyerstein: Spitzer linked to prostitution ringSpitzer's Nixonian hubrisSex and taxes: How Spitzer allegedly got caughtSpitzer and Suspicious Activity Reports and sex stingsEnough is enough: Feds probe Spitzer's records back to 1999
Amanda Marcotte: Cut out the stand by your man routineAsk for facts, get the facts
Elizabeth Pisani: Spitzer's true follySpitzer: cementing a cross-party tradition of hypocrisySpitzer: some better ideas for the lapsed abolitionistCalling "These women": tell us about your disorders...
Scott Swenson: RealTime: Prostitution Pledge for Politicians
Ed Cone:…
clock | February 8, 2008Many important research findings never make it into the actual practice when it comes to reproductive health services. Rose of The INFO Project Blog has posted an interesting and good survey which needs to be spread around the blogosphere more in order to get a bigger number of responses:
To improve service delivery and policies, research should be put into practice. However, some important research findings that could improve reproductive health services have not been incorporated widely into policies and programs.
For example, the World Health Organization advises that family planning…
clock | January 10, 2008"Why isn't there a birth control pill for men?" is the latest "Ask A ScienceBlogger" question. I am sure my SciBlings will rise to the occasion and explain both the biological and social barriers to the development, production and marketing of such a pill. I will be more light hearted, with a brief look at alternative methods proposed over the years intended to make guys temporarily infertile. Let's start with this delightful, funny, yet informative, movie:
The movie can be found here, via Science of the Invisible (Thanks for the heads-up).
Perhaps this quack had a point after all! Would…
clock | October 30, 2007Rockridge Institute published a set of articles (and a video ad) that I found quite interesting about the way to frame health care. See for yourself:
Introduction to Rockridge's Health Care Campaign:
Framing for Rockridge is about the honest expression of the progressive moral view based upon empathy and responsibility for oneself and others. It is about recognizing government's role to protect and empower citizens. In other words, we want to communicate our moral view as directly as possible. We want to make sure the moral view is not lost in the fog of complex policy proposals.
The Logic…
clock | July 9, 2007I had a great pleasure recently to be able to interview Senator - and now Democratic Presidential candidate - John Edwards for my blog. The interview was conducted by e-mail last week.
As I am at work and unable to moderate comments, the comment section is closed on this post, but will be open on the previous post (here) where I hope you will remain civil and stay on topic. You are also welcome to comment on this interview at several other places (e.g,. DailyKos, MyDD, TPMCafe, Science And Politics, Liberal Coalition, the Edwards campaign blog as well as, hopefully, your own blogs).
I…
clock | December 20, 2006The 29th Carnival of Feminists is up on The imponderabilia of actual life containing posts by several of my favourite bloggers, including Zuska who has her own pick of favourites there.
Speaking of Zuska, she also has a cool article in the inaugural issue of the new science-culture Inkling Magazine, the brainchild of the magnificent blogging Trio Fantasticus of Inkycircus.
And while we are on the topic, Razib exhibits a complete lack of sense of irony, i.e., the inability to see sarcasm and seeing seriousness instead.
clock | September 20, 2006This strange November 09, 2005 post should really be posted on Friday as part of the Friday Weird Sex Blogging....
Via Shakespeare's Sister and Blue Gal in a Red State comes this crazy article:
Serbs line up for testicle shocks
Men in Serbia are lining up to have electric shocks delivered to their testicles as part of a new contraceptive treatment.
Serbian fertility expert Dr Sava Bojovic, who runs one of the clinics offering the service, said the small electric shock makes men temporarily infertile by stunning their sperm into a state of immobility.
He said: "We attach electrodes to either…
clock | September 1, 2006What?....
There is a slang phrase in Serbo-Croatian that means "doing nothing; being idle; wasting time", and it is "hladiti jaja", which means "cooling (one's) balls". So, if you see a guy just sitting there, clutching a beer bottle and gazing into the distance, you may ask him "Hey, man, whatcha doin'?" and he may reply " 'ladim jaja", i.e., "I'm coolin' me balls".
Well, this slang phrase, indicating a thermoregulatory behavior, has its origin in the real theromoregulatory physiology. Yes, mammals have to cool their balls. That is why mammalian testes are located outside the body inside…