Survey results analyzed by psychologists at The Fenway Institute, an advocacy group for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, found that gay and bisexual boys use anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) at rates much higher than their straight counterparts - almost 6X higher.

Compact fluorescent bulbs save energy but they also contain mercury, a toxic metal.

While environmentalists have promoted them as safe, and the US government has given them a de factor mandate and subsidy by banning incandescent bulbs, there are still concerns among the public about the risks of having hazardous materials in their homes.

Mercury lamps, on the other hand, have been around since 1860. They were rarely used in the home, they are a big part of the reason why incandescent bulbs were invented in the first place, because they made human skin look 'green' and the risks in an enclosed space were too high but are more common in street lamps, because they have long life.

Babies delivered at home by midwives had a roughly four times higher risk of neonatal deaths than babies delivered in hospitals, also by midwives. 

The paper is not out to indict the midwife delivery fad but suggests they aren't going to be qualified to deal with problems the way a hospital setting and doctors would be.
The authors link the increased neonatal mortality risk with the location of a planned birth, rather than the credentials of the person delivering the baby. 

Though you may have read otherwise, numerous studies from China, Spain and the United States have have found that the biodiversity of insects and related arthropods is not reduced by genetically modified (GM) rice, cotton, or maize fields.

A new study from South Africa published in Environmental Entomology shows similar results, that biodiversity is the same as that among conventional crops.

A total of 8,771 arthropod individuals, comprising 288 morphospecies, were collected from 480 plants sampled from Bt maize and non-Bt maize fields over a two-year period. The researchers found no significant differences in abundance or diversity in detritivores, herbivores, predators, or parasitoids.

Five Empa laboratories were involved in the EU «NanoHouse» project, along with four other European research institutes and four industrial partners. The aim of the project was to investigate the opportunities and risks presented by the nanomaterials used in the surface coatings applied to building façades. For the first time not only were freshly manufactured products studied to see if they set free nanoparticles, but also aged samples.

Increased awareness and a much broader range of conditions being part of the autism 'spectrum' has been good for therapists but is placing huge demands on health care systems and health care professionals.

A review published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) seeks to help physicians provide appropriate medical support to families of children who may have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), everything from detection to treatment.

ASD includes a wide variety of traits that range from mild to severe and is estimated to affect about 1% of the population.