Well, it actually turns out that science backs up the premise that the testosterone-addled among us do make riskier financial decisions! A new study of 98 Harvard students published yesterday in Evolution and Human Behavior shows that men with higher levels of testosterone invested more of their money than those with lower levels. This jibes with earlier studies that show actual traders "make more money" on days when their testosterone levels are higher and that even women make riskier financial decisions while menstruating — when estrogen and progesterone are lower in proportion to naturally occurring testosterone. (Wait, does that mean that testosterone can be blamed for PMS? Because that would be kind of cool.)

Anna Dreber, the co-author of the Harvard study, says, "Long-term, above-average testosterone levels may perhaps eventually lead to irrational risk-taking, and thus lower profits." So, maybe there was a method to the SAC Capital estrogen-popping madness? Could a hedge fund really have been trying to maximize long term profits? That might be even stranger than a hedge fund forcing its traders to cross-dress.

Is Testosterone To Blame For The Financial Crisis? [LA Times]

Because the evidence of a woman being "in heat" has evolved to be subtle, contends the New Scientist, "Men become increasingly sensitive to the tiny changes that do occur. Other women also pick up on the changes, perhaps to keep an eye on the competition."

And speaking of female competition, a second recently released study shows that estrogen works in women in a similar manner to the way testosterone works in men in relation to competition. In alpha females who are "power motivated," reports Reuters, estrogen levels shoot up when they win, and plummet when they lose. The opposite happens in women who are not "power motivated": their estrogen levels fall when they win and rise when they lose. The relationship between estrogen and competition, according to scientists, is strongest in single women who are not on oral contraceptives.

'Sexy' Voice Gives Fertile Women Away [New Scientist]
Is Estrogen Testosterone For Women? [Reuters]

As much as aquatic vertabrates are important to the ecosystem, of primary concern to pill-poppers is not getting knocked up. Our second story: Kroeger supermarket pharmacies are selling generic versions of Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen for a mere $9 per 28-pill pack. This is especially excellent news for college students, as the cost of birth control at universities had skyrocketed as a result of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

Still, $9 is a sight less than you'd be paying for name-brand and newer drugs, like Seasonale, the pill that only gives you a period four times a year. Marie Claire, the magazine we loved to hate on earlier today reports that the brand is now being advertised on male-directed media properties like the pages of Maxim and Spike TV. "Maybe this is just a clever way to get guys who are skeeved out by the bloat and the mood swings to sell the Pill for them," MC's Sarah Z. Wexler concludes, since Seasonale will shorten your PMS time by 2/3. Don't submit! Think of the fishes!

A Poison Pill: Human Contraceptives Are Bad For Fish [The Economist]
Birth Control Pills For A Mere $9 A Month [US News & World Report]
A Birth Control Pill for Men [Marie Claire]