• On the heels of reports that Going Rogue confirms there was tension between Sarah Palin and John McCain's aides during the 2008 campaign, Ann Coulter says, "Wow, I hope she pays them back in this book, and I can't wait to read it. No, I mean, McCain — he was the media's favorite Republican. So, any criticism his side made of Palin was instantly printed, and now we finally get the payback. And I'm looking forward to it." • Palin will visit Fort Hood next month as part of her book tour for Going Rogue. She planned the visit before last week's shooting, and a representative from the base called her and said she should still make her planned appearance on December 4. • The British government has proposed a ban on people under the age of 18 using tanning beds to reduce the risk of young people developing skin cancer. It was reported today that in some areas of the U.K. up to half of all girls aged 15-17 are tanning, which doctors say significantly increases the risk of malignant melanoma. • In February, Jen Ivers will become the first female student to participate in the Mr. Yale contest. Ivers prefers to dress as a man, is openly gay, and doesn't identify as a man or a woman. Her residential college overwhelmingly voted for her to represent them, but initially the college rejected her application. Yale claims it was a miscommunication and a rep says, "It'll be really cool and unique to have her compete." • Scientists from the University of California tested the pain threshold of 25 women in various situations and found that they didn't hurt as much when their romantic partner was holding their hand, and experienced even less pain when just looking at his picture. Researchers say the person's picture brings up pleasant thoughts, but when they're actually in the room they may be upset that their partner is worried about them. They recommend patients bring loved ones' pictures to painful procedures. • Jill Berry, president of the Girls' Schools Association, says that schools should tell teenage girls that they don't need to beat themselves up if they decide to take time off from their future careers to raise children. ''They will need to realise that there may be times when they might not want to work, or they might want to take a lesser job because their priorities have changed. It is important that they leave school at 18 with their eyes open," she said. • Kirsty Moore, who became the first woman admitted to Britain's Royal Air Force display team, says she hopes her position will make girls "think that this is something they could be part of and they should go for it." • Caster Semenya says after the international controversy over her gender, "People want to stare at me now. They want to touch me. I'm supposed to be famous but I don't think I like it so much." • Oreo, the dog who was nursed back to health after her owner threw her off the roof of his six-floor Brooklyn apartment building, was killed today by lethal injection. After Oreo's owner was convicted of animal cruelty many people offered to adopt her and pay for her medical care, but the A.S.P.C.A. said she was a danger to the public because she was "unpredictably aggressive." Supporters had requested that the organization delay the euthanization and negotiate the dog's transfer to an animal sanctuary. • No African country has developed a program to give the cervical cancer vaccines to girls, even though 71,000 of the 500,000 who are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year are from Africa, and 78 percent of cases result in death. Professor Lutz Gissman, one of the researchers who discovered the virus said, "If you can persuade [African] girls to get a vaccine shot, the problem will be drastically reduced in the next 10, 20 years." • Police are hunting for a Brazilian blogger they say posted the names of 300 people who are cheating on their partner in the small rural town of Lagoa da Prata on Orkut. "This is not a very nice joke – for people to say that your boyfriend or your husband is a cuckold," says one woman whose boyfriend's name was on the list. "I don't really know what to say to people." • Police arrested a Florida man who repeatedly called 911 and made sexual comments to the dispatcher, asking to come to her house. There's a perfectly reasonable explanation: He told police that he'd run out of cell phone minutes and 911 was the only number he could call. •

8 Cervarix is only $5 cheaper than Gardasil, but unlike Merck's vaccine, it doesn't prevent two other types of HPV that cause genital warts. The committee decided not to endorse one vaccine over the other, and the CDC still has to adopt the committee's recommendation for it to be approved for widespread use. • The Oklahoma law that would require the collection and anonymous public sharing of abortion patients' personal data will not go into effect as scheduled on November 1, due to some legal wrangling and highly unusual judicial decisions. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a suit requesting a temporary restraining order to prevent the law from going into effect on behalf of two local women. The judge recused herself from the case and the new judge, Twyla Mason Gray, has ignored the request but granted the state's request for an extension, moving the hearing to December 4. Gray set the bond for the temporary restraining order request at $25,000, which is an uncommonly large sum for such cases. Oklahoma Representative Wanda Jo Stapleton says so much personal information would be made public by the law that, "Women in small towns can be identified by nosy neighbors or, equally important, they can be misidentified when the guessing games start." • Megan Williams of West Virginia is now says she was lying when she reported that she was assaulted by a group of white men. She accused the men of keeping her in a trailer for several days, beating and stabbing her, and forcing her to eat animal feces. Seven men plead guilty and were convicted, but now her lawyer says she made up the story to get revenge on one of the men she was having a relationship with. Prosecutor Brian Abraham says the men were convicted on physical evidence and their own statements. • In only the second known case of a sperm donor passing on a genetic disease, a donor has given the heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to nine of his 24 children. One died at age 2 and two of the children, who are now teenagers, are at risk for sudden cardiac death. • Dr. Marci Bowers, who herself underwent a sex-change operation, now performs "female circumcision reversals" that can restore sexual pleasure in 80% of genital mutilation victims. One patient says she's looking forward to "a romance with my husband." • Israeli researchers say people who are violent with their partners are usually in control with their friends and bosses. They say the abuser usually goes through a calculated decision-making process and their behavior often escalates from verbal aggression, to threats of physical aggression, then moderate physical aggression, and severe physical aggression. • Six women are accused of posing as victims of domestic violence to jump to the top of the New York City Housing Authority's waiting list for subsidized apartments. A manager noticed there were similarities in some of the women's police reports and other documents. If convicted of forging court documents, the women could each face seven years in prison. • 53-year-old John Marshall of California has been charged with drugging and raping an acquaintance then shaving off all of his victim's hair. There are at least two other complaints from men and boys who say he drugged and raped them but he hasn't been charged with those crimes and is currently out on bail. • Kuwait's highest court has granted women the right to obtain a passport without their husband's approval. Thousands of women have been petitioning the courts to overturn the 1962 law requiring their husbands' signatures for a passport. Women in Kuwait can vote, serve in parliament, and drive, unlike women in some neighboring countries. • Researchers from Yale University and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System asked 18,481 female and 134,731 male veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom if they are in pain since coming home. Only 38 percent of female veterans compared to 44 percent of the men said they experienced any pain, and women were more likely to report moderate-severe pain but less likely to report persistent pain. "We were surprised by the lower pain prevalence in women Veterans which is contrary to studies conducted in civilian populations," said Dr. Sally Haskell. The discrepancy could be due to the fact that women do not serve in direct combat roles, or women being reluctant to seek treatment and admit they're in pain. • A 50 year-old Russian coal miner is trying to sell a signed photograph of Brigitte Bardot to pay for a $2,090 operation to treat his lung disease. • The one day suspension of a Springfield, Illinois bus driver who wore a pink tie to support breast cancer awareness has been rescinded. Springfield Mass Transit District managing director Linda Tisdale wrote in a newspaper editorial, "Unfortunately, my decision has left the mistaken impression that the SMTD and I do not support the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign and, even more regrettably, has hurt and insulted the many families who have had to deal with this horrible disease." • A Florida judge says he will not dismiss a civil lawsuit against Casey Anthony, charged with killing her daughter Caylee. The girl's former nanny Zenaida Gonzales is suing Anthony because she says she damaged her reputation by naming her as a suspect in Caylee's death. • A recent study found that adults who are childhood cancer survivors are 20 to 25 percent less likely to marry compared with their siblings and the American population. Sometimes cancer treatment can lead to fertility or developmental problems and survivors may suffer from ongoing medical issues. • Hahnium Goren, the mother of a 15-year-old girl believed to be murdered by her father in an "honor killing," testified against her husband Mamet Goren in a London court today. While on the stand she screamed at him, "Look at my face. What did you do to Tu lay?" He's accused of killing their daughter in 1999 because she was dating a boy he didn't approve of. • The British news program More4 News will feature actors playing Jane Austen, Samuel Johnson, and John Ruskin "reporting" on the societal changes since their time. The Jane Austen character will discuss modern courtship and the waning popularity of marriage and observe a speed-dating session where "you can encounter dozens of potential partners in one evening, with no obligations." • Some extremely serious runners have their toenails surgically removed to make 50 or 100-mile races less painful. Nails are removed by pouring acid on the nail bed. A podiatrist who treats runners says, "Even within the ultra community, less than 10 percent or maybe even 5 percent are permanently removing their toenails." •

• In this video, Miss Universe contestants are shown participating in the "Condom Olympics" three days before the pageant on August 23. The event was sponsored by the AIDS prevention group Population Services International, and the women were asked to blow up condoms until they burst, fill them with water, and conduct condom demonstrations. A representative for the group says they were preparing the new Miss Universe to be an Ambassador for Youth AIDS and "Often times, target populations are illiterate or of low literacy and we need to find ways to reach them through engaging activities that don't rely on written materials." Conservative groups are upset that the activities didn't promote abstinence and PSI was founded by pornographer Phil Harvey. • Amber Alerts were created for stranger abductions in which a child is in danger, but LiveScience columnist Benjamin Radford argues that there are too many false alarms. Most abductions are committed by a non-custodial parent or family member and don't qualify for the notification. One study found that of all the Amber Alerts issued in 2004, police had violated protocol by issuing the alert in 70 percent of the cases. • Australian Tegan Leach, 19, is waiting to see if she'll have to stand trial for giving herself an abortion at home. Her boyfriend may be charged with supplying a drug to procure an abortion and both have been charged with procuring an abortion, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years. Police found empty Ukrainian blister packs they say may have contained pills that induce abortion. Abortion laws in Australia vary by state, but they are illegal in Queensland, where she lives, unless the mother's life is in jeopardy. • Iranian MPs have approved the the first female minister in the republic's 30-year history. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, who will be the health minister, is a hard-line conservative who has proposed introducing gender-segregated health care in Iran in the past. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nominated three women for cabinet positions but MPs rejected the other two women he picked to be social security minister and education minister. • A study of 1,000 Iranian high school students suggests family history may determine whether or not teens get severe acne. Of the teens whose parents or siblings had moderate to severe acne, 20 percent had the same problem, compared to only 10 percent of those teen with no family history. • Russia's supreme court has cancelled the retrial of four men accused of being involved in the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006. Prosecutors have been ordered to begin a new investigation into the involvement of the suspected gunman as well as the four men. In the decision the court sided with the journalist's family, who argued a retrial would take attention away from finding who planned the murder. • Primatologists at New York's Stony Brook University have found that pregnant female gorillas continue mating with males to prevent other females from mating with him. "It seems to us that mating is another tactic that females use to compete with each other – in this case to gain favour with another male," said one researcher, who believes this behavior may help explain how humans evolved into a generally monogamous species. • People have continued secretly visiting Neda Agha-Soltan's grave in Behesht-e Zahra cemetery even though Basij paramilitary vigilantes have threatened to harass or arrest mourners. Authorities may have decided to bury her and other opposition martyrs there because the cemetery is large and located an hour outside Tehran, but people have figured out where Neda's grave is and leave flower petals on the site. • Researchers studied 32 women with postpartum depression and found that 17 of the mothers, or 53%, felt suicidal. This group was also felt they were less prepared for motherhood and had greater difficulty responding to their infant's needs than those who were not suicidal. • Australian scientists tested cancerous breast cells and found several strains of HPVs known to have a high risk of initiating cervical cancer. "The finding that high risk HPV is present in a significant number of breast cancers indicates they may have a causal role in many breast cancers," said one researcher. "Confirming a cancer-causing role for HPV in some breast cancers establishes the possibility of preventing some breast cancers by vaccination against HPV. • Dirty Diaries, a collection of 12 short pornographic films shot by a feminist documentary maker Mia Engberg and funded by taxpayers is premiering in Sweden tonight. "Porn has always been made by men for men," said Engberg, "Above all, it's about showing sexuality through a female's perspective. It's not made to please a male audience and it's not made to make money," she added. • A 68-year-old nun was arrested for drunk driving on Long Island, New York on Tuesday after crashing into a tree. She was driving a car that belonged to the church and almost hit a group of children playing on their lawn. Police found a water bottle filled with alcohol in the car and say her blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. • A 68-year-old Salt Lake City woman who held the Guinness World Record for her long fingernails lost them in February when they broke during a car crash. She says it's much easier to move her hands now without the weight of her fingernails, which measured as long as 2 feet, 11 inches. She's not going to try to grow them out again because it took her 30 years to get them to that length and she doesn't think she'll live that long. •

Yesterday, CDC and FDA researchers published an analysis of the side effects associated with the human papillomavirus vaccine - which has been linked to 32 deaths since 2006 - in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). As of June 1, 23 million doses of Gardasil have been distributed, and there was an average of 53.9 complaints filed with the government for every 100,000 vaccine doses, which ABC News reports is similar to the number of complaints filed for other vaccines.

Experts say the complaint data is limited because anyone can file one and the reports are not verified, but only 6.2 percent of the reported complaints were considered serious and lead to hospitalization, permanent disability or death. Compared to other vaccines, users of Gardasil were more likely to report fainting or blood clots, but the JAMA study showed 90 percent of the 56 women who reported developing blood clots had other risk factors like smoking, being overweight, or using oral contraceptives. "Although the number of serious adverse events is small and rare, they are real and cannot be overlooked or dismissed without disclosing the possibility to all other possible vaccine recipients," Dr. Diane Harper, director of the Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Research Group at University of Missouri told ABC News, "The rate of serious adverse events is greater than the incidence rate of cervical cancer."

The FDA and CDC continue to recommend the vaccine for women ages 9 to 26, but now the consensus in the medical community is that doctors need to be more educated about the risk of cervical cancer and the vaccine's side effects. Dr. Joseph Zanga, chief of pediatrics at the Columbus Regional Healthcare system in Columbus, GA, told ABC News that HPV infections may clear up on their own and that routine pap smears are still the best prevention against cervical cancer. He added:

"Perhaps the most important, currently missing 'warning' is that the vaccine may not be forever... we know that it protects for 5-7 years so that a girl getting the series at [age] 11-12 will enter the time of her most likely sexual debut unprotected but believing herself to be."

But finding unbiased information on Gardasil's side effects may have been complicated by the vaccine's manufacturer. A separate article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that at least three medical associations promoted the vaccine using money provided by Merck. The analysis of the pharmaceutical company's marketing techniques by Columbia University public health experts revealed that the American College Health Association, the American Society for Colopscopy and Cervical Pathology, and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists used the same strategies as Merck to promote the vaccine and did always not disclose that they were accepting money from the company, The Washington Post reports. Merck and the three medical societies say it was not inappropriate for the groups to each accept about $200,000 to $300,000 from the drug company because they money funded education programs about the vaccine but didn't influence their content.

In the JAMA article the Columbia researchers say that the medical societies used arguments that were very similar to Merck's marketing approach, which downplayed the vaccine's potential side effects and overemphasized the threat of cervical cancer to adolescents. According to the American Cancer Society, 11,000 women in the U.S. develop cervical cancer every year, and 4,070 die from it, but USA Today reports that many of the deaths are among poor white women in Appalachia, black women in the South, and Latinas along the Texas-Mexico border. Since cervical cancer can be detected by regular pap smears, these women without access to medical care are most likely to die from it. Dr. Sheila Rothman, the article's co-author, wrote that Merck "practically ignored" these at risk groups, and focused instead on the message that all women are equally at risk, helping the company reach as many customers as possible.

A representative for Merck said that there are several programs that make the vaccine available to poor women, but the JAMA report says these facts were not emphasized in the medical society's marketing material, which often failed to mention that they received Merck funding. "It screeched the message, 'all women are at equal risk, protect yourself from cervical cancer, and this is the way to do it,'" said Rothman, "The fact that the medical societies repeated this message is what concerns us."

Gardasil HPV Vaccine Faces Safety Questions [ABC News]
Medical Groups Promoted HPV Vaccine Using Drug Company Money [The Washington Post]
Report: HPV Vaccine May Be Going To The Wrong Women [USA Today]

A study from the Karolinska Institute found that subjects with the human papillomavirus in their mouths are more likely to get tonsil cancer. It takes 20 to 30 years for an HPV infection to result in cancer, so those who are sick today were infected in the '70s and '80s. Of 120 patients in the city who got the cancer between 2003 and 2007, at least 83 were HPV-positive. Doctors hope that the new HPV vaccine will help reduce the rate of tonsil cancer, especially because the disease has almost no symptoms and often goes untreated until it spreads to the lymph nodes. Researcher Tina Dalianis says if people "have a lump in their throat, especially if it's on one side and it doesn't go away with antibiotics, they should see a doctor." [USA Today]

[Image via Flickr.]

Pharmaceutical company Merck has had a human papillomavirus vaccine for males in the works for some time and is currently seeking FDA approval for the vaccine. In women, HPV causes genital warts and can lead to cervical cancer, which about 10,000 women are diagnosed with each year. For men, the vaccine also prevents HPV, which can cause penile and anal cancer, and cancer of the mouth and throat. About 7,500 men are diagnosed with these cancers per year and vaccinating boys also helps prevent the spread of the virus to men's sexual partners.

Though there have been concerns raised about the safety of the vaccine for girls, the debate has centered mostly on whether being vaccinated against the STD would make girls more likely to have sex. Now that there is a male vaccine people are focusing on whether it's safe and cost effective to have boys vaccinated, especially when they can't get cervical cancer, reports The Washington Post. The prospect of boys sleeping around hasn't entered into the debate. "We are still more worried about the promiscuity of girls than the promiscuity of boys," said Susan M. Reverby, a professor of women's studies and medical history at Wellesley College. "There's still that double standard."

Since the male vaccine was proposed, people have wondered if parents would be willing to vaccinate their sons. "For girls, you can go right to protection against cervical cancer. That's a powerful argument," said Gregory D. Zimet, a professor of pediatrics and psychology at Indiana University. "For boys, you have to make several arguments. Part of it is an altruistic argument. I think it's persuasive, but it's more complex." Debbie Stein of Maryland says she would have her 11-year-old son vaccinated. "My feeling is it's a serious virus that causes cancer, and there's no reason not to vaccinate him," she said. "I think it will protect him and protect his wife in the future. I don't want to see him when he's 35 or 40 have a wife die of cancer."

Merck says they won't launch another big (and ultimately unsuccessful) push to have schools require boys be vaccinated like they did after the FDA approved Gardasil for girls in 2006. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is currently examining the results of a study presented last month on the safety of the vaccine for boys. If the panel endorses it, that will influence whether schools require the shot, and if insurance companies will cover the costs.

In June the committee will consider several cost-benefit analysis, since the vaccine costs about $500 for three shots. Though vaccinating boys will reduce the amount of virus that is transmitted back to girls, some are questioning if it's worth it since boys are less affected by cancers associated with HPV. Professor Zimet says questions of cost shouldn't be what's driving public health policy. "This is a vaccine that principally benefits women's health. I wonder if it was the reverse, and there was a vaccine for women that helped prevent prostate cancer in men, this would be as much of an issue," he said.

A Vaccine Debate Once Focused on Sex Shifts as Boys Join the Target Market [The Washington Post]

Earlier: Drugmaker Seeks FDA Approval For Gardasil For Males
Gardasil For Guys: Will Boys Get It?

Newsweek reports that this week, the American Fertility Association (AFA) will hold the first in a series of one-hour conversations about reproductive health with a "Manicures & Martinis" event at a Manhattan nail salon. The event is targeted at women in their 20s and 30s who aren't ready to have children yet. A group of 25 women will be served martinis and alcohol-free "fertilitinis" at the salon as a fertility expert leads a discussion about the reality of the biological clock and risk factors for fertility. "I wanted to create a program that was soft, that was light and that was non-threatening," says the AFA's director of development, Corey Whelan, who adds that the message of the program is "one of hope, not one of doom and gloom." The event is being promoted through social networking sites like Facebook so women can invite their friends in a "girlfriend-to-girlfriend experience."

The first salon event will be run by Dr. Jaime Grifo, program director at the New York University Fertility Center, who says the goal of the program is "not to be paternalistic or dictatorial, it's to be educational so people make decisions consciously rather than unconsciously." Though some say that harping on the threat of infertility is sexist and unfair to single women, others argue that having information on the topic is empowering. Though fertility varies greatly in women, studies show that generally fertility starts to decline in the late 20s and drops of dramatically in the late 30s. Grifo says that while many young women assume they'll have children one day, they don't think about how to get there. "It's so easy to deny and not think about these things and then show up in my office at 44 and say, 'I've tried for two months, what's wrong?'" she says.

While the AFA says the goal of the "Manicures & Martinis" event is not to induce a panic among younger women, in the UK, one Christian group attempted to instill the fear of infertility in even younger women to get them to refuse the HPV vaccine. The Daily Mail reports that the group Christian Voice ran an ad in the magazine New Statesmen that claimed: "Every Government initiative, including the HPV vaccine, will increase [teenage infertility], but as all the targets revolve around pregnancy, no-one in power knows how many young people they are making sterile and nobody cares." Following complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, the agency investigated and ruled that the group has to pull the ad, since there is no significant scientific evidence that the HPV vaccine causes infertility in teenagers. Christian Voice now claims that their freedom of speech is being limited, since they argue that the HPV vaccine will increase teen sex and cause a surge in STD infections that cause infertility.

The AFA program in New York will discuss the negative effects of STDs, smoking, and substance abuse on fertility, in addition to age. It will also address fertility treatment options such as egg freezing, a procedure that can cost up to $10,000 and is still considered experimental. Though the AFA claims the only goal of the campaign is to educate women, it is funded by the drug company that makes the fertility drug Follistim, a pharmacy that provides fertility prescriptions, and several fertility clinics. But Whelan insists that though the AFA needs funding from these groups, they have not influenced what will be taught in the infertility prevention program. "We're trying to decrease the patient population, not increase it," she says.

Have Another ‘Fertilitini’ [Newsweek]
Watchdog Bans Christian Advert That Claims Cervical Cancer Vaccine Causes Infertility [The Daily Mail]

In fact, when compared to other vaccines, those receiving Gardasil shots reported fewer "serious adverse events." The Journal reports that 6% of Gardasil complaints were "serious," while "most vaccines have reported serious adverse events rates between 10% and 15%."

Even with these findings, immigrant advocates are still not happy that immigrant women between the ages of 11-26 are required to get the Gardasil shot before receiving their green cards. As we reported earlier, the expense of this shot is a serious barrier, and the L.A. Times reported yesterday that some experts think the shot could be fairly ineffective. "Many women will very likely get this only for the purpose of the visa," according to Kate Bourne of the International Women's Health Coalition. "Quite likely they will be at the upper end of the age range, which means they are more likely to already be sexually active, and this vaccine is useless to them." The only group of women and girls required to get the Gardasil vaccine beyond immigrants is residents of the state of Virginia, because as we all know, Virginia IS for lovers, despite what Nancy Pfotenhauer says.

Side Effects Not Linked To Gardasil [WSJ]
Immigrants' Advocates Decry Cervical Cancer Vaccine Order [LAT]

Earlier: Experts Question The Cost Effectiveness Of HPV Vaccine
Experts Appalled At Gardasil Requirement For Immigrant Women

• The creator of 'For Better or Worse,' the long-running comic strip, has announced that the comic strip will travel back 30 years in the past to the time when the strip first began. • Cambridge University is soliciting the producers of popular British soap operas, asking that the school be included in story-lines to help shed the University's snobby image. • Female police officers in the English county of Cumbria now have the option of wearing specially-designed maternity uniforms if they become pregnant. • Last Thursday, the British Columbia Court of Appeal ruled against the assertion that "bubble zones" around abortion clinics — where anti-choice activists harass women entering the clinics — are an infringement on free speech. • Australia has just sworn in its first female governor general (the Queen's representative to Australia), Quentin Bryce. • More firsts for women in Europe: Two women have become the first women to pass Vienna's Spanish Riding School's entrance exam to ride the famous Vienna dancing horses. • The LPGA Tour decided today to banish rules that suspend players who cannot speak English well enough to be understood at pro-ams, in interviews or in making acceptance speeches. • Male Maasai warriors in Kenya who travel to the tourist town of Mombasa to marry white women or find jobs to provide for their community sometimes work as hairdressers, a large cultural taboo. • Disgraced Olympic track star Marion Jones was released from prison today after serving a six-month sentence for lying to federal prosecutors about performance-enhancement drug use. • A new book titled Why Men Die First says that men die earlier than women because they are "more fragile and inherently vulnerable than females" which means they have to visit the doctor often if they want to live long lives. •

• A new study indicates that women who keep quiet during marital disputes have an increased risk of dying from heart disease compared to women who speak their minds. Oh Katie, you're so doomed. [LA Times]
  
• Thinking about getting pregnant? Want a baby girl? Get stressed. Want a baby boy? Get fat. [DailyMail, ScienceDaily]
  
• Nearly 96% of all women and girls in Egypt are subjected to some form genital mutilation. Though the country's Health Ministry outlawed the practice over a decade ago, they created a massive loophole for "emergencies". [NY Times]
  
• Cervarix, HPV vaccine alternative to Gardasil, has been approved for sale across the European Union. Hopefully the US will be next, as Cervarix is available for women above the age of 27, unlike Gardasil. [Wall Street Journal]

• We didn't realize stuffing ourselves with burgers, beer, and mac 'n' cheese on the weekends and then fasting during the work week had a name but apparently "Alternate-Day Fasting" is a major diet trend. [Science Daily]
• We knew it — Britney sucks as a mom because she lacks the super important Mommy Gene. Too bad she also lacks the "Smart Enough to Wear a Condom" gene too. [Science Daily]
• So, if you don't drink much milk, your chances of getting osteoporosis (i.e. brittle bones) greatly increases. However, if you're not a milk drinker, you're probably also a bit of a fatty, which also protects you against bone loss? [Reuters]