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WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - A compound taken from male sweat stimulates the brains of gay men and straight women but not heterosexual men, raising the possibility that homosexual brains are different, researchers in Sweden reported on Monday. It also strengthens the evidence that humans respond to pheromones -- compounds known to affect animal behavior, especially mating behavior, but whose role in human activity has been questioned. The pheromone in question is a derivative of testosterone called 4,16-androstadien-3-one, or AND. "AND is detected primarily in male sweat," the researchers write in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National...

There is apparently a spectacular new video tape of a bigfoot, that was shot in Manitoba, Canada. It will be shown today on Foxes "A Current Affair", along with commentary by bigfoot researchers. Supposedly people who are in total denial about Bigfoot have walked away after watching the tapes convinced that Bigfoot is real. I have seen a computer enhanced version of the Patterson video. The creature is clearly a female, with swinging breasts. Anyways, just a placemarker for interested folks.

--SNIP-- Mr. Taverne argues compellingly that the conflict over gene-spliced crops is the most important battle of all between the forces of reason and unreason, both because of the consequences should the forces of darkness prevail, and also because their arguments are so perverse and so consistently and completely wrong. In fact, agricultural practices have been "unnatural" for 10,000 years, and with the exception of wild berries and wild mushrooms, virtually all the grains, fruits and vegetables in our diets are genetically modified. Many of our foods (including potatoes, tomatoes, oats, rice and corn) come from plants created by "wide...

Key points • Study finds parents discriminate between children based on 'attractiveness' • Canadian study showed parents more likely to neglect 'unattractive' children • Attractiveness described in terms of facial symmetry, cleanliness and attire Key quote "Most parents will react to this with shock and dismay. They’ll say ‘I love my kids and I don’t discriminate on the basis of attractiveness.’ The point of our research is that people do" - Dr Andrew Harrell, University of Alberta, Canada Story in full GOOD-looking children get more attention from their parents than less attractive ones, new research has claimed. The study by...

Weird and wonderful inventions will be on show during a debate on medical "quackery" at London's Science Museum. Devices once used to treat the sick are being taken out of storage for the adults-only event on Wednesday evening. Many date from the 1800s. They include Sir Hiram Maxim's Pipe of Peace, a precursor of the inhaler, and a hand-cranked electric shock machine used to treat toothache and tics. The debate will take place at the museum's Dana Centre from 1900 BST. 'Unique chance' Lisa Jamieson, head of Dana Centre programmes, said: "This will be a unique chance for our audience...

A study published in the current issue of Journal of Personality studied adult male monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins to find that difference in religiousness are influenced by both genes and environment. But during the transition from adolescence to adulthood, genetic factors increase in importance while shared environmental factors decrease. Environmental factors (i.e. parenting and family life) influence a child's religiousness, but their effects decline with the transition into adulthood. An analysis of self-reported religiousness showed that MZ twins maintained their religious similarity over time, while the DZ twins became more dissimilar. "These correlations suggest low genetic and high...

...Marquis, my local PBS outlet has stepped up its usual quackery standard from Deepak Chopra by featuring a Dr. Christiane Northrup to plug up their current fund drive. It took me less than 30 seconds to discover the sham nature of their offering. Northrup touts her book "Mother-Daughter Wisdom" and a "Legacy Kit" as bonuses to those who join PBS at the rate of $275 a year. In her appearance on screen for PBS, Dr. Northrup told of a bereaved daughter who found pennies in various places around the house after her mother died, and considered those to be "messages"...

Fredwin On Evolution Very Long, Will Bore Hell Out Of Most People, But I Felt Like Doing It by Fred Reed I was about fifteen when I began to think about evolution. I was then just discovering the sciences systematically, and took them as what they offered themselves to be, a realm of reason and dispassionate regard for truth. There was a hard-edged clarity to them that I liked. You got real answers. Since evolution depended on such sciences as chemistry, I regarded it as also being a science. The question of the origin of life interested me. The...

GAINESVILLE Florida's Board of Governors voted 10-3 today to reject a proposed chiropractic school at Florida State University that was sought by powerful lawmakers, but vehemently opposed by some FSU medical faculty. The board did not agree there was a need to create the nation's first chiropractic school at a public university, especially when state funding is so scarce and it could damage the school's reputation. The project has been embroiled in controversy since last year when state lawmakers put $9 million in the state budget for a school. Instead it was a pet project for then Senate President Jim...

Some of you may have heard of this guy when I posted about his Bear-proof Suit. Others may have seen him on t.v. with his Fire paste. It is now my pleasure to bring you the latest product of this modern Edison. Well, no, not Edison. I don't think Edison was a nutjob. Anyway, enjoy the rubber science for what amusement it's worth. Troy Hurtubise has done the seemingly impossible with his newest invention and defied all known rules of physics, he says. The Angel Light—Hurtubise claims the concept came to him in a recurring dream—can reportedly see through...

s the horror of the South Asian tsunami spread and people gathered online to discuss the disaster on sites known as Web logs, or blogs, those of a political bent naturally turned the discussion to their favorite topics. To some in the blogosphere, it simply had to be the government's fault. On Democratic Underground, a blog for open discussion and an online gathering place for people who hate the Bush administration, a participant asked, "Since we know that the atmosphere has become contaminated by all the atomic testing, space stuff, electronic stuff, earth pollutants, etc., is it logical to wonder...

Two studies by University of Illinois food science and human nutrition professor Sharon Donovan show that the soy isoflavone genistein, in amounts present in commercial soy infant formulas, may inhibit intestinal cell growth in babies. So what are we to think about soy in a baby's diet? Donovan said it's an important question to ask because almost 25 percent of formula-fed babies in the United States consume soy formula. Although babies on soy formula appear to grow normally, these formulas contain very high concentrations of genistein, from 32 to 45 milligrams, which is higher than the amount found to affect...

(CNSNews.com) - With the world's attention focused on the earthquake/tsunami that has claimed tens of thousands of lives in at least ten countries that surround the Indian Ocean, media organizations like Reuters are pinning part of the blame for the catastrophe on "global warming." "A creeping rise in sea levels tied to global warming, pollution and damage to coral reefs may make coastlines even more vulnerable to disasters like tsunamis or storms in [the] future," wrote Alister Doyle, an environmental correspondent for Reuters, who attributed the opening paragraph of the story to "experts." However, Doyle's story did not contain...

No Time Out for Christmas! It seems there is no time out in the nation's Cultural War. Not even Christmas is sacred. The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) is protesting Time magazine's publishing of statements against the virginity of Our Lady in the cover article of its December 13 edition. The American TFP is strongly objecting to what it considers a most unwarranted attack on Mary and the Catholic faith. The Time article cites authors that call into question the circumstances of Our Lord's birth with declarations like: "Critics may also have alleged that...

So often what you think you know may not be so. And it's a reason I love the book just out from America's top-selling thriller writer, Michael Crichton. He's the man who created the popular TV medical drama "ER," wrote "Jurassic Park," which ranks among the top 10 grossing films of all time, and much more. Crichton's books and movies have grossed more than $4 billion. Now, he's tackling global warming in his latest techno-thriller, "State of Fear."

What the Bleep Do We Know?" a quirky film by a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur that links quantum physics with the teachings of a Washington state guru - who channels a 35,000-year-old warrior - is breaking attendance records at art houses across the country. A word-of-mouth campaign, undeterred by reviews skeptical of the film's New Age underpinnings and leaps of scientific faith, has made it an unexpected hit among independent films. Box office returns of $8.3 million in mid-November put it among the top-grossing indies in recent years, behind "Fahrenheit 9/11" ($119 million), "Bowling for Columbine" ($21 million) and "Super...

Old Palafox Street is an aging, two-lane stretch of road running through the middle of Pensacola, Florida. To the east of Old Palafox, the next major road is Interstate 110 and in between those thoroughfares rests the sprawling campus of Pensacola Christian Academy, quickly followed by the even more sprawling campus of Pensacola Christian College. Both campuses are crammed with spotlessly maintained buildings and grounds. They stand out starkly amid the visible economic decline that surrounds them. The area is littered with empty, boarded-up buildings and abandoned strip malls. Less than a mile north of the Academy on Old Palafox...

“Never make judgments.” That’s what scientist Alfred Kinsey tells his research assistant very early in the new film about his life. Kinsey, as you know, was all about nonjudgmentalism. Throughout his career researching the sexual habits of Americans, his goal was to free society from the constraints of what the movie calls “morality disguised as fact.” And like its subject, the film attempts to be nonjudgmental—or, at least, that’s the ploy. Three scenes exemplify the supposed nonjudgmentalism. In the first, Kinsey tells his wife, nicknamed “Mac,” that he’s had sex with one of his male researchers. Though she’s devastated, he...

http://www.illinoisleader.com IL MEDIA UNSPUN: Kinsey & Ebert, At the Movies Friday, November 19, 2004 By Arlen Williams, media critic (arlen.williams@unspun.info) Alfred Kinsey's life is featured in a new film, "Kinsey," released this weekend.   The Chicago Sun Times' film critic Roger Ebert is a native of Downstate Urbana. Warning: This column is not suitable for children, nor some adults. OPINION -- A movie is now being shown that promotes one of the most evil and destructive figures in the 20th Century. The setting: not Berlin, nor Moscow, nor Peking . . . but Bloomington, Indiana. People of informed conscience...

Meat Increases the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease “Extensive evidence points to the rich Western diet as the fundamental cause of Alzheimer’s disease: … Worldwide, the incidence of AD [Alzheimer’s disease] is more common among people who follow meat- and dairy-centered diets, than among those people who eat a more plant-based diet.” —Dr. John McDougall, McDougall Wellness Center Indeed, a flood of research shows that the toxins in meat, including chicken and fish, increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, while the antioxidants in vegetables help prevent this deadly disease. Click here to learn more. In the wake of former President...