Breakthroughs Today

Varmus Christopher Forbes.com 12/29/08 14:00:05 GMT The sex industry traces back to 500 B.C., when traders from the Greek port of Miletus sold olisbos, an early version of the dildo. Today, the business of sex (including pornography) now runs into the tens of billions of dollars. (No official estimates are available; Wall Street analysts don't tend to track this stuff.) And while print and video sales are ebbing, as more free adult content has become available online, sales of un-reproducible sexual aids are still healthy. "Of course, there's concern about the economy, but right now our sales are growing," says Michael Trygstad, founder of Wet, a lubricant manufacturer in Van Nuys, Calif. "We've grown 30% this year alone. We've had to completely automate our factories to meet the tremendous demand. People are deciding to stay at home and engage in inexpensive entertainment.'' Slick marketing--and the ability to shop anonymously online--helps, too

Agence France-Presse Reported as "Huge dinosaur discovery in China: state media" Paleontologists in east China have dug up what they believe is one of the world's largest group of dinosaur fossils including the remains of an enormous "platypus", state press said Tuesday. Paleontologists have discovered 15 areas near Zhucheng city in Shandong province that contain thousands of dinosaur bones, the Beijing News reported. "This group of fossilised dinosaurs is currently the largest ever discovered in the world... in terms of area," the paper cited paleontologist Zhao Xijin of the China Academy of Sciences as saying. In one area measuring 300 metres (990 feet) by 10 metres, more than 3,000 bones were found, the report said. Since digging began in March scientists have discovered more than 7,600 bones. Included in the find was the largest "platypus" -- or "duck-billed dinosaur" in Chinese -- ever discovered measuring nine metres high wit

Published in the infoBayArea.com As " Poinsettia: Flore de Nochebuena" A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy."I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes," said Pedro consolingly. Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel. As she approached the alter, she remembered Pedro's kind words: "Even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the

Breakthroughs 2008 December 30 Aging Can Be Skin-Deep, Too December 24 The Pointsettia's Sinister Side Article Users-- TARBAHO SA CEBU: Link only December 16 No Stroke Guard in Anti-Ox December 10 Saying It Alluringly Clear December 2 Female Sexual Satisfaction Article Users-- SUGBO ONLINE: Female Sexual Satisfaction November 26 Getting High on Mistakes November 11 Findings on Love, Marriage Article Users-- CWANSWERS, SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH: Link only October 28 Waving the Flirting Wand October 22 Gestures of Courtship October 15 The One that Got Away October 8 Curse of the Fat Gene October 1 Out of the Blue September 24 Morbid Jealousy Article Users-- ICONOCAST: Boyfriend Runs Into Jealousy ( Translated into Korean ) September 17 Awkward Positions August 27 Sweetening Pain August 6 Wintry Skin Strips July 30 Territorial Divergence July 23 Sound Strategy for Cancer July 9 Irritable Grace June 25 Survivors of Hiroshima Article Users-- FLOWER DELIVERY: Survivors of Hiroshima (Tr

DR. DAVE CURRIE AND GLEN HOOS Chinese Women Today A great sex life: we all want it. And, judging by what we see in the movies, we've all got it. Not so fast. It's not as easy as it's made out to be. In fact, as I've worked with couples over the years, I'd estimate that fewer than one third of married couples enjoy a mutually satisfying sexual relationship. Sexual issues are troublesome on a number of levels. First of all, they are felt very deeply by both partners: by men, because their sense of self-worth is tied so closely to their sex life; and by women, because sexuality is often an area of extreme vulnerability. Add to that the fact that sexual difficulties are tough to talk about - and even tougher to seek help on - and it’s easy to see why so many couples struggle in this area. Sex alone cannot be the foundation of a marriage. Nevertheless, when it's going well, there's no doubt that sex is a powerful glue that bonds a couple together and builds real

JANE SMITH eHow Published as "How to achieve closeness in a long-distance relationship" Being apart can be very difficult for couples, especially in the early stages of a relationship. Here are some ways to build closeness when you are far apart. The Reason Step1 There are many reasons why the love of your life might be far away: military deployment, business, work or simply that you met and fell in love over the Internet. Step2 No matter why you are apart, you each need a desire and commitment to maintain your relationship. It is not enough for only one half of the pair to do so. Step3 You will have to have patience with slow or interrupted communication. If your mate is overseas, there may be unstable or intermittent Internet connections, slow mail due to being in or near areas of global conflict and infrastructure issues, such as undersea communications cables being cut. Step4 You will need to trust one another and be honest with each other. Do not spend your precious t

ZOSIMO T. LITERATUS, RMT Sex is one intimate activity that reflects a lot the health and the stability of a heterosexual relationship. In fact, oftentimes, it can be used as indicator if the relationship is doing well or not. The reason for this is communication. A loving relationship thrives and grows through good and effective communication. Needless to say, bad communication can potentially, and has been known to, destroy a relationship. The same is true with sexual interaction, or euphemistically speaking, “making love.” The current study of Daniel M. Purnine and Michael P. Carey of the Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, tried to test male and female sexual satisfaction (or, as they called “sexual adjustment”) against the factors of understanding and agreement. That is, understanding the opposite’s preferences; and deriving an agreement on which sexual activities and behaviors to use and pursue together. Understanding, according to Purnine and Carey, “allows one to know ho

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE MSN News Published as "Sex invariably spells trouble, says Dalai Lama" The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual and temporal leader, on Friday said sex spelt fleeting satisfaction and trouble later, while chastity offered a better life and "more freedom." "Sexual pressure, sexual desire, actually I think is short period satisfaction and often, that leads to more complication," the Dalai Lama told reporters in a Lagos hotel, speaking in English without a translator. He said conjugal life caused "too much ups and downs. "Naturally as a human being ... some kind of desire for sex comes, but then you use human intelligence to make comprehension that those couples always full of trouble. And in some cases there is suicide, murder cases," the Dalai Lama said. He said the "consolation" in celibacy is that although "we miss something, but at the same time, compare whole life, it's better, more independenc

PUSHKAR CHHETRI Bhutan Observer Published as "The price of doing drugs" Getting high on drugs might seem like another part of the world with all that excitement initially, but when this fun turns to fear, one might as well wish for a time machine to go back and erase the past. Tenzin (name changed), 28 has been doing drugs since he was 14. He has experimented with everything from marijuana, tablets to injecting Proxyvon. “I started using correction fluid and dendrite in the beginning not only for a high but to prove I was a tough guy,” said Tenzin. After a few years of education in Bhutan, he continued his education in Kalimpong where Tenzin became addicted to tablets. “Kalimpong was a whole new environment and to stay away from home meant a lot of freedom in terms of what I could do,” he remembers. His experimentation with tablets soon manifested into addiction within a few weeks time. “It was cheaper and easily available and I started having two tablets of Nitrosun-10 and

ZOSIMO T. LITERATUS, RMT Freedom has always been found at the time of making a decision, a choice of actions, things, and more. Once the choice has been made, freedom ends with the consequences of that decision or choice. Then freedom reappears with how a person handles the impact of the results from those decisions. The same natural process continues to play in marriage, from the choice of a partner, to the decision to enter into marriage, and the eventual decision to stay or separate ways. Professor emeritus of sociology at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey USA) David Popenoe founded the National Marriage Project to provide research analysis on the state of marriage in America as one of its two-pronged mission. The project financially supported by the university in cooperation with private foundations came up a guideline entitled “Ten Important Research findings on Marriage and Choosing a Marriage Partner: Helpful Facts for Young Adults.” It was published in November 2004

ZOSIMO T. LITERATUS, RMT International health authorities do not agree on the limits of clinical features observed to qualify for a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. However, I believe that you get the smallest measurements as your warning levels to be conservative. Early prevention is always better than doing it late. In health, disease reversal can be daunting and many times next to impossible at its final stage of deterioration. The World Health Organization (1999) requires that presence of diabetes mellitus (impaired glucose tolerance, impaired fasting glucose or insulin resistance) be diagnosed first and two of the following clinical levels before a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome is warranted: blood pressure, 140/90 mmHg; dyslipidemia [1] ; central obesity [2] , and presence of albumin in the urine [3] . The European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (1999) demands that insulin resistance be at the top 25% of the fasting insulin values for non-diabetic individuals and tw

ZOSIMO T. LITERATUS, RMT More than we know it, flirting not only provides the fun of encounter but also is a natural, and yet essential and universal, necessity of human interaction. The positive and negative connotations of flirting came obviously from the manner in which it has been commonly practiced without so much guidance in the proper and wholesome ways to do it. It might be instinctive to flirt, but the way to do it is not. Effective flirting is well-informed flirting Flirting, while admitted not yet a science, is certainly an art...an art of interpersonal communication and subtle influence. Kate Fox of the Social Issues Research Centre, a non-profit organization based in St. Clements, Oxford, United Kingdom, makes an important contribution in providing us the SIRC Guide to Flirting. ( Click here to download in pdf format)

ZOSIMO T. LITERATUS, RMT There are two major phases in the initiation of courtship among us. First, the move of making the contact; then, the introduction of oneself once the contact has been established. Biologically, as can be observed among lower mammals, courtship behavior is designed to maximize reproductive success of each respective species. In humans, intimate relationship acts as the initial goal of contact, which is hoped in time to evolve into long-lasting bonds including sexual commitments. The theory of parental investment [1] proposed that the gender that invests most in reproduction (usually the female) will be more selective in choosing a mate. Conversely, the gender that invests the least is more likely to desert and to pursue additional mating opportunities. This prospect justifies the need for courtship or wooing in order to increase male investment to the intimate relationship, also increasing the masculine need to be ensured of exclusive sexual access to their pa

ZOSIMO T. LITERATUS, RMT Two outbreaks of petfood-associated renal failure occurred in 2004 (involving around 6,000 dogs and a smaller number of cats) and 2007 (involving a large number of dogs and cats in North America). In 2004, the outbreak was linked to the ingestion of specific commercial dog foods, and occurred in dogs from Asia. Health authorities attributed it to poisonous compounds (particularly ochratoxin, citrinin, or both) that contaminated raw materials in a manufacturing plant in Thailand. In 2007, on the heel of another renal failure outbreak associated with pet foods, North American health authorities identified the toxic compounds as melamine and cyanuric acid; both are present in wheat gluten, rice protein, and corn gluten imported from China and used as a pet food ingredient. Able to elevate falsely the measure of protein content in pet foods because of its high nitrogen content, melamine was presumed to have been intentionally added by suppliers in China. Two studie