Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Beer-Sheva have determined that the once prevalent custom of female genital mutilation (FGM) among the Bedouin population in the Negev has virtually disappeared.

FGM, also known as "female circumcision" or "female cutting," is still practiced in many cultures around the world.  The World Health Organization has made the eradication of female genital mutilation a major goal in Africa, Asia and Australia, though why the UN doesn't care about men is subject to speculation.

Like sweet, tender romance?   Don't date a sand beetle.   Researchers at Uppsala University say what is good for one sex is not always good for the other sex and evolutionary conflicts between the two sexes cause characteristics and behaviors that are downright injurious to the opposite sex.

In both males and females in the animal world it is common – much more common that one might like to think – for one sex to evince characteristics and properties that are injurious to individuals of the other sex.

Roman artefacts which are nearly two thousand years old with similarities to ancient remains found at Pompeii in Italy will be examined at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s ISIS neutron source in Oxfordshire this weekend.    Researchers hope to learn more about English heritage by discovering whether the items were imported from southern Italy, or manufactured using similar techniques in Britain.

Astronomers using the NASA Swift Satellite are tracking a spectacular comet as it closes in on Earth and sheds gas and dust from its vaporized ice.

A comet is a clump of frozen gases mixed with dust. These "dirty snowballs" cast off gas and dust whenever they venture near the sun. Comet Lulin, which is formally known as C/2007 N3, was discovered last year by astronomers at Taiwan's Lulin Observatory. The comet is now faintly visible from a dark site. Lulin will pass closest to Earth - 38 million miles, or about 160 times farther than the moon - on February 24.

Gamma-ray bursts are the universe's most luminous explosions. Astronomers believe most occur when exotic massive stars run out of nuclear fuel. As a star's core collapses into a black hole, jets of material -- powered by processes not yet fully understood -- blast outward at nearly the speed of light. The jets bore all the way through the collapsing star and continue into space, where they interact with gas previously shed by the star and generate bright afterglows that fade with time.

Make of it what you will but a study released today says that breastfeeding may reduce multiple sclerosis(MS) relapses.   Sorry guys, this only helps women MS sufferers and only after pregnancy.

For the study, researchers followed 32 pregnant women with MS and 29 pregnant women without MS during each trimester and up to a year after they gave birth. The women were interviewed about their breastfeeding and menstrual period history. 

A total of 52 percent of the women with MS did not breastfeed or began supplemental formula feedings within two months of giving birth. Of those, 87 percent had a relapse after pregnancy compared to 36 percent of women with MS who breastfed exclusively for at least two months after pregnancy.