Naked News (08-25-09)
- Study shows a broken heart may actually increase your risk of heart disease…but only in women. Just in case you thought the playing field was starting to get too even.
- Public health officials consider mandatory circumcision — yes, here in the U.S. — to lower H.I.V. risk.
MRI sex
Improbable Research is an organization which collects (and sometimes conducts) improbable research (i.e. “research that makes people laugh and then think”), publishes a magazine called the Annals of Improbable Research, and administers the Ig Nobel Prizes. These mock Nobels are held once a year in a fun, goofy ceremony to honor the most unusual recent [...]
Read More »In sleep vs. sex battle, the winner is…mattresses, pills and PDAs
It seems like every few years, someone comes out with a study about what percentage of the population would choose a good night’s sleep over sex. The studies are usually sponsored by a mattress company, or a pharmaceutical firm developing non-addictive (riiiiight) sleeping pills, or — as in the most recent case — a chain of hotels with extremely comfortable beds. The study, funded by Westin Hotels, found that 51% of Americans surveyed would choose sleep over sex (as we mentioned here earlier this week). It sounds much less depressing if you put it the other way: 49% of us would still sacrifice sleep for a bit of raucous boot-knocking, aw yeah. But it sounds much more depressing when you learn that a decade ago, a massive 69% (heh) of those surveyed said they’d choose sex over sleep.
Read More »Report: Energy Efficiency Could Halve U.S. Greenhouse Gases by 2050
Energy efficiency investments can provide up to half the greenhouse gas emissions reductions most scientists say are needed between now and the year 2050 to avert the worst effects of climate change, finds a new report from the nonprofit and independent American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, ACEEE.
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GreenIf sex studies sound too good to be true, they probably are
We have a love-hate relationship with sex studies. On the one hand, they’re the bread and butter of this Naked Love blog (to wit: Study shows even cheaters’ guilt is selfish; Study shows the car doesn’t maketh the man; Study shows father knows best; Study shows some playas are just spreading the love; et al). But on the other hand, the science behind some of the sex studies out there appears flimsy to say the least. Take this “research”, which one site recently reminded us of: An Italian scientist by the name of Dr. Maria Cerruto claimed that wearing high heels improves a woman’s sex life. Hmm…an Italian woman looking to justify her Pradas? Color us suspicious.
Read More »“Daily sperm liberation” may increase fertility
The big sexual health news this week was that a guy can increase the quality of his sperm by having sex every day for a week, and thus improve his fertility; he might have fewer sperm on his team when he goes for the gold, but the ones he does have will be stronger players. (In contrast, many fertility experts recommend that guys abstain for a few days before her ovulation to increase sperm count.) Reading about this study brought two questions to mind:
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SexNaked News (06-29-09)
- The New York Times reports that, Mark Sanford and Jon & Kate notwithstanding, the institution of marriage has become more resilient in recent years, not less so. In fact, after Sanford’s confession-slash-lecture-on-sin last week, we wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to take credit for single-handedly strengthening the institution of marriage. Whadda guy.
- AlterNet rates the greatest GOP sex scandals of the past 20 years. Meanwhile, “hiking the Applachian Trail” wins our award for best euphemism of the year.
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Read More »Study: The car doesn’t maketh the man
photo by Qole_Pejorian In news that will probably be surprising only to the male readers of this site, a recent study found that expensive cars don’t really impress the ladies. Researchers in Australia measured changes in the brain responses of women toward a range of men in different cars. Turns out a man having a [...]
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SexNaked news (06-16-09)
- New study shows that two-thirds of men and 40% of women masturbate. Women: shame on you for not breaking the 50% barrier. (Here’s inspiration if you need it.) Men: shame on you for lying. Read More »
Clean Energy Economy a Bright Spot for Job Growth
WASHINGTON, DC, June 12, 2009 (ENS) – The number of jobs in America’s emerging clean energy economy grew about 2.5 times faster than overall jobs between 1998 and 2007, finds a report released Wednesday by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Included in Pew’s definition of the clean energy economy are jobs as diverse as engineers, plumbers, [...]
Read More »Preventing risky teen sex: Father knows best
A friend of ours is fond of telling new dads, “Your most important job is to keep your daughter off the stripper pole.” Well, a new study kind of proves his point, if you’re willing to accept “stripper pole” as a sort of overarching metaphor for everything from early sexual activity to teen pregnancy to self-destructive tendencies in the sack. (Yes, we know not all strippers are young single mothers who’ve made bad choices, and some happily choose stripping as a lucrative career; but we’d bet that any father of a young girl would file random hook-ups, barebacking AND stripping in a category labeled “sex-related shit I hope to god my daughter never engages in.”) This is the stuff that makes fathers want to sit in a rocker on the front porch holding a shotgun. The study found that when it comes to preventing risky teen sex, teenagers whose fathers are more attentive and more involved in their lives are less likely to engage in risky activities like unprotected intercourse. Attentive moms help too, of course — but researchers found that dads have twice the influence.
Read More »Study: Some playas are just spreading the love
Where would this blog be without all the scientists who study why we do the things we do in bed? They’ve debunked the beer goggles theory, taught us that even cheaters’ guilt is selfish, and confirmed Paula Abdul’s hypothesis that opposites attract. And the latest breaking news from the lab? Not all players are cold-hearted snakes.
Read More »Naked News (06-02-09)
- News you can use: Research shows that history majors have the most active sex lives.
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Read More »Paula Abdul was right: opposites really do attract
If you’re wondering why so many couples fight about money, here’s your answer: Surveys of married adults consistently show that opposites attract when it comes to the type of spender you are. Stingy tightwads who just can’t bring themselves to reach for the wallet, even when they know they should, tend to shack up with reckless spendthrifts who just can’t help overspending, even when they know they shouldn’t. Researchers say this is because we’re attracted to people who don’t possess the characteristics we hate in ourselves.
Read More »Naked News (05-12-09)
photo by babasteve No joke: Saudia Arabia holds a “Miss Beautiful Morals” pageant. Gossip Girl takes a hit: Study links viewing adult-themed TV to earlier sex in teens. Oh, but Serena van der Woodsen and Chuck Bass make such good company on lonely, lonely nights. Finally! Funding for failed abstinence-only programs bites the dust under [...]
Read More »Study shows even cheaters’ guilt is selfish
The other week we explained how evolutionary psychology can be so annoying sometimes, what with all its assumptions about modern-day dating and mating behavior based on hunter-gatherer societies. Sure, sometimes those theories are fascinating and even enlightening, but sometimes they’re just plain wrong.
Read More »Evolutionary psychologists do it with blinders on
photo:gniliep Evolutionary psychology can be so annoying sometimes. Like when it tries to explain women’s modern-day preference for pink as some left-over instinct from hunter-gatherer days when they needed to be good at gathering berries, completely disregarding the fact that in the early 1900s pink was the color of choice for little boys and blue [...]
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SexNaked News (04-27-09)
Study: Children Exposed To Pornography May Expect Sex To Be Enjoyable If Mainers and New Yorkers embrace Iowans’ “mind your own business” mentality, their states could be the next to legalize gay marriage (hope, hope). Of course, then you’ll get whackjob judges like this all over the place refusing to perform any marriages, just so [...]
Read More »Scientists debunk beer goggles theory
photo by two dolla Turns out you can no longer blame booze the next time you wake up in a coyote ugly situation. In fact, researchers at the University of Leicester in England found that drinking alcohol actually reduces the attractiveness of the opposite sex. Participants in the study, in various stages of intoxication, were [...]
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SexNaked News (04-21-09)
photo by appenz Move over cougars; hyenas are the new predatory females in town. The latest trend, apparently, is sexually aggressive teen girls who take boys’ virginity just for fun, leaving the guys depressed and/or freaked out. Equality never felt so crappy. Like Freddie Krueger (except scary), Sarah Palin rises again, this time in preparation [...]
Read More »Naked News (04-14-09)
photo: Green Porno 1 Mean green porno: flies engage in “chemical warfare” to control their mate’s sex drive. Yay, another excuse to drink! Study says red wine may increase women’s libidos. Science isn’t always progressive: Male chimps treat females to nice steak dinner, get laid. Get a whiff of this: in a recent study, people [...]
Read More »Decoding Love with Andrew Trees
photo via DecodingLove.com If your Magic 8 Ball is a less-than-reliable dating guide, then author Andrew Trees has a better idea: Why not turn to the latest studies in economics, neurochemistry and game theory instead? We chatted with him about his latest book, Decoding Love: Why It Takes Twelve Frogs to Find a Prince and [...]
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