'Sex sells' is something everybody knows and thus a large volume of newsprint in 2008 was dedicated to the topic. But many findings that grabbed headlines this year didn't really tell us anything we didn't already know.
Therefore, Fox News has made a list of the ridiculously obvious sex findings of 2008, which is as follows:
Attractive people probably have more sex
Researchers at the University of Durham in Britain found that men whose faces were more "masculine" and women whose faces were more "attractive" were rated as likelier to have casual sex.
Unplanned pregnancy affects her quality of life
Research in the September issue of Contraception didn't surprise many when they concluded that unintended pregnancy has adverse effects on a woman's quality of life.
Porn as sex educator
A study by the Austrian Institute for Sexual Education made a much obvious finding that more than half of Austrian male youth rely on pornography for sex information.
She's good to ride horses
Research conducted by Dr Shaheen Alanee and colleagues at the University of Minnesota found that horseback riding is not associated with female sexual dysfunction.
Methamphetamine use makes for risky sexual behaviours
While substance abuse has long been associated with risky sexual behaviours, thus it didn't come as any wonder when research in the Journal of School Health found that using methamphetamine is associated with risky sexual behaviours and adolescent pregnancy.
He said/she said
The long known gender divide on sex was again highlighted in the research in the College Student Journal, which found that men are more likely to think that oral sex is not sex, while women felt that such intimacy was very much sex. On the matter of cybersex, men did not regard it as cheating, while women did. Finally, men thought that the frequency of sex drops in a marriage, while women thought that it stays high.
It's okay to pressure her
Research by Sheffield University in England confirmed that teen boys think that it's all right to pressure girls into sex, and use alcohol for getting them into bed.
Condoms make for less pleasure
Complaints about having to use condoms was again tackled when researchers at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University found that women who used condoms, whether solo or with other hormonal methods, reported decreased sexual pleasure.
Ugh! It's Brad and Jen all over again
Ridiculous as it may seem, but an investigation conducted at Queen's University Belfast found the obvious-sexual infidelity was more upsetting for men, whereas emotional unfaithfulness was more distressful for women. Also, it was found that men think that women have sex when they're in love.
Intra... what?
A survey in the September 2008 issue of Contraception found that over 60 percent of 14 to 24-year-old females had never heard of an IUD - intrauterine device. This isn't mind-blowing given most youth do not receive education on any contraceptives.
Abstinence-only programs do not delay the onset of intercourse
In a Sexuality Research and Social Policy review of 56 studies assessing the impact of comprehensive, STD/HIV education, and abstinence-based sex education programs, it was found that most of these programs did not delay the initiation of sex.
It's all in your head
Although sexologists have long been saying that Sex is a mind-body-soul experience, with your brain being your biggest sex organ, there was a Portuguese study this year, which reported that men's concern over erection negatively correlated with sexual arousal. For women, lack of erotic thoughts and failure to control intrusive thoughts were found to impact their sexual response.
Parents want comprehensive sex education
Parents have declared since long that they want their children to get information that protects them from pregnancy, HIV, and STDs. And in the past year, a study in the Journal of Adolescent Health once again found that nine out of 10 parents want their children to be educated on both contraception and abstinence.
Labels: 2008, Interesting, Sex., Study
Washington, December 31 : A US agency that focuses on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere has revealed that 2007 was one of the 10 warmest years since 1880.
Preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) establishes 2007 as the eighth warmest year for the US since national records began in 1895.
The data also suggests that the global surface temperature for 2007 was expected to be fifth warmest since records began in 1880.
The data will be updated in early January to reflect the final three weeks of December, and is not considered final until a full analysis completes next spring.
According to the Environmental News Network, 2007 saw severe to exceptional drought affecting the Southeast and western US. More than three-quarters of the Southeast bore the brunt of drought from mid-summer into December.
Such was the impact of drought that the Governors of at least five South-eastern states, along with California, Oregon, Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware, had to declare states of emergency at some point during the year.
Drought and unusual warmth contributed to another extremely active wildfire season, says the report.
The year also saw 15 named storms in the Atlantic Basin-Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Six of such storms developed into hurricanes, including Hurricanes Dean and Felix, which struck Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Nicaragua, respectively.
Preliminary data also suggests that sea surface temperatures near the equator of the eastern Pacific were below average during by the end of November.
The same conditions are likely to continue into early 2008, according to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.
