photo by chadcrowell A report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which was commissioned by the UK’s Department of Health, has found that fetuses don’t feel pain before 24 weeks (and probably not after for some time) for two reasons: 1) the brain is not formed enough to perceive pain, and 2) the […]
After both of us were on vacation for a week, pretty much avoiding all news and headlines, we were shocked and saddened to receive an invitation to a funeral this morning for an acquaintance we didn’t even realize had died: UK artist, writer, self-proclaimed dandy and all-around nut, Sebastian Horsley. For a second we thought […]
photo by Chris La Putt for Brooklyn Vegan In case you missed it, last Saturday was Coney Island’s 28th (if we did our math right) annual Mermaid Parade (see some great pics here). It’s usually one great big, silly, public, burlesque parade of skimpy costumes, garish mardi-gras art and mer-related merriment. But this year had […]
photo by stevendepolo Gardasil, the popular vaccine that protects against certain strands of HPV, is now being recommended for boys. The Pakistani government is beginning to allow sex-change operations. Cry us a river: the BP oil spill is having a negative effect on beach weddings. Speaking of BP…a Christian conservative has somehow made a connection […]
photo by Lynsey Addario/VII Network for Time It’s reasonable to assume that, in this day and age of technological advances and common knowledge about good health, maternal mortality rates should be next to nil. But even in the United States, one of the richest countries in the world, it’s up at 13.3 deaths per 100,000 […]
At least once a week we’re reminded how glad we are that we were teens in the eighties and not today. Take clothes, for example — when we were in high school, it was actually cool to wear men’s XL Champion sweatshirts and baggy boxer-style shorts. Sure, we all regret pegging our jeans, but it […]
photo by daspaz A new study analyzing long-term data on kids from birth to adulthood just came out that suggests children of lesbian parents do better than their peers. According to Time: The authors found that children raised by lesbian mothers – whether the mother was partnered or single – scored very similarly to children […]
click to watch the Frontline episode We just got around to watching Frontline’s late April report called “The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan” — it’s a horrific and mind-blowing look into the world of “bacha bazi,” or “boy play”: …Afghan journalist Najibullah Quraishi (Behind Taliban Lines) returns to his native land to expose an ancient practice […]
Really? The Gores? The couple most likely to make it to old age on a rocker-for-two on the front porch?! Not the Clintons? We have to admit, it’s a little refreshing to know that even such public marriages can have their secrets and mysteries. We now feel truly bad about the number of times we […]
photo by StewieD A study of Germans found that only 5% of them would choose sex over watching a German World Cup final game. Planned Parenthood has begun a quiet campaign to ensure that birth control is counted among the free preventive services health insurers must cover under the Affordable Care Act. Michelle “Bombshell” McGee […]
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Just in case you missed it over this long holiday weekend, at the end of last week the House voted to allow the repeal of the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy against gays, as did the Senate Armed Services Committee. It’s […]
photo by Blyzz According to a new report in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine (what, you’re not a subscriber?), IVF conception could become routine for thirty-somethings within a decade. Buh-bye, baby-making sex, hello doctor! The report claims that IVF technology is advancing so quickly that soon it will be possible to produce embryos with almost a […]
Image by Charles Fettinger We have mixed feelings about Maureen Dowd: on the one hand she is a totally awesome butt-kicking columnist who can swing with the big boys while pointing out how many of them are actually just whiny little boys. But on the other hand, she seems to phone it in a lot […]
photo by rohan_chennai Pope Benedict XVI called abortion and same-sex marriage some of the most “insidious and dangerous” threats facing the world today. (Can we start replacing that phrase “Is the pope Catholic?” with “Is the pope an ignorant doddering asswipe?” instead now please.) A truckload of saucy items is, er, hot on the streets […]
photo by Jenny Lee Silver This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Pill, and there’s been some interesting coverage of it by the media. Margaret Marsh, one of the first researchers granted access to the personal letters of the Pill’s co-developer, John Rock, discusses his Catholicism, among other Pill tidbits. The Guardian points out […]
photo by figleaf A bill that would require Pennsylvania’s public schools to provide sex education to students is on its way to the state House of Representatives. The federal trial to determine if California’s same-sex marriage ban violates the U.S. Constitution may wrap up in June after a months-long hiatus. Brazil’s health minister has a […]
