Links Post - January 15, 2012

Physiology

The wonderful quail? and what Sen. Coburn should learn about it and Cocaine and the sexual habits of quail, or, why does NIH fund what it does? Bora and Scicurious tackle the topic of another study that came under fire in Senator Coburn?s Wastebook.

What?s Inside: Enzyte Male Enhancer. It?s mainly just a bunch of stuff that promotes the production of nitric oxide, which is a vasodilator, meaning it causes your blood vessels to expand. Vasodilation in the penis contributes to an erection because dilating the vessels allows more blood to enter, leading to turgidity.

Pregnancy 101: On the cervical mucus plug and why I?ve never been more happy to hold something so disgusting in my hand. A great post on the role that mucus plays in female reproductive physiology.

The internal clitoris. You probably think you know where the clitoris is (I certainly hope you do), but it?s actually in more places than you?d think.

Will I get a yeast infection if I eat too much sugar? In a word, no. At least, not as long as you aren?t putting that sugar in your vagina.

Transfaunation and Fecal Transplants: What Goes Around Comes Around, Literally and Figuratively. I just LOVE a good blog post on fecal transplants. ?We then discussed probiotics and he then told me an amazing story about how the old school farriers used a special method to treat horses if they were sick with some sort of gastrointestinal distress (e.g., colic). They would make the sick horse ?poo tea? by taking feces from healthy horses and making it into a tea of sorts and then they served this to the sick horses.? POO TEA.

Other Science

Don?t drink the water! Why it?s okay but sometimes not okay to drink distilled water.

How a ?designer baby? might just work. Although each of your parents contributes exactly 50% of your genome, the spread between grandparents is much more random due to segregation and recombination (i.e., rarely does each grandparent contribute exactly 25% of your genome). You could, in theory, choose gametes that favor the grandparent with a particular desired phenotype.

Doh! Top Science Journal Retractions of 2011. I remember a good number of these papers, but I did not know that many of them had been retracted.

Every drug is the ?deadliest drug,? especially oxycodone. ?I?ve never heard an addict say, ?my drug is the worst drug.? They know there isn?t such a thing. Such throwaway language stirs fear among those who may be medically prescribed oxycodone and creates a never-ending dark tunnel for those who may already be abusing the stuff.?

Everyday Science: Why Can You Hear Around Corners But Not See? A nice discussion of the difference between light and sound waves.

The Barry White Syndrome: Why are deep voices attractive? I hate having to limit myself to only one Anthropology in Practice post per link round-up because her posts are always so interesting and relevant. Alas.

Other Stuff

The colors of a family. ?I was holding my 1-year-old, ambling about downtown with some friends. White friends. She must have thought my boy belonged to one of them. There?s a simple explanation: I?m black but my son, Ashe, is white. At least he looks it. But things are more complicated than that.?

World?s first pee-controlled video game opens in London bar. Pee left, ski left. Pee right, ski right. This is nice, but I want a version in the women?s restroom too.

13 Myths and Misconceptions about Trans Women. This post is actually in two parts; don?t forget to click the link to the second part at the bottom.

The Arkh Project. This is a fantasy RPG computer game in the early stages of development, made by queer people of color and featuring queer people of color as the main characters (the protagonist is a biracial feminine genderqueer deity named Ain/Aina). There?s concept art and preliminary story lines and game play, but they need visibility, promotion, and donations (ChipIn or?Indiegogo (preferred)) in order to produce the game. If this is up your alley at all, you should consider tweeting, linking, or donating. [I have no financial interest in this game. I'm promoting it simply because I think it is an excellent idea and something that needs to be made. Also the protagonist is cute beyond words.]

The History of the New Year. ?If circumcision doesn?t say start your calender year, I don?t know what does.?

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