There is an article that is worthwhile reading on stuff about the hounding of the runner Caster Semenya on the question of her gender. I confess, I was revolted by the reaction of the press and the olympic committee. I was also shocked that the olympic committee appeared to have no procedures set down for [...]

USA Today carries a fascinating article on child-rearing gay couples drawn from a newly published book by Abbie Goldberg, an assistant professor of psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. The book is entitled Lesbian and Gay Parents and Their Children: Research on the Family Life Cycle. Goldberg contends that “The sexual orientation of a parent [...]

There is lots of colourful debate about this issue, both in the media and in the blogosphere. I will not debate the ethics and morals of the issue but stick to a few very simple facts.
Firstly homosexual relationships are about 7 times more likely to dissolve than a heterosexual marriage. This figure is probably lower [...]

Apparently we are officially the third fattest nation on the planet. Our obesity rate is 26.5% of the population (Mexico is 30% and the US 34.3%). Australia has a rate of 21.7%, but as the Aussies haven’t updated that figure since 1999, I find it as believable as their underarm bowling skills.
Inevitably, the obesity police [...]

Sometimes you have to wonder exactly what it is that motivates scientists to do research in areas guaranteed to get them into trouble. British fertility researchers have created a kind of “proto-sperm”, using stem cells from an embryo. Theoretically this could be used to reproduce the human race without male input – a female only [...]