Episode 9: Science News

It’s as easy as Hep C

Research released on Monday by the University of NSW found that up to 70 percent of Hepatitis C patients could be cured, if they got treatment quickley. But if they didn’t act there is a risk of chronic liver infection. It is estimated that more than 300,000 Australians are infected with chronic hepatitis C. But less than two percent receive treatment. The most common routes of infection include infected needles and sexual transmission. The international study involved 702 patients from Australia, and 194 from New Zealand, Canada, Thailand, Argentina and Mexico. All had hepatitis C genotype 1– the most difficult to treat.

Mending Menopause
University of Adelaide has published research showing that menopausal women are abandoning hormone replacement therapy, preferring alternative remedies. The study surveyed 953 women over 40. HRT usage fell from 22 percent in 2000 to 11.8 in 2008. While menopausal women see alternative therapy as a safer option the authors noted that many of these treatments have not been tested for long term safety.

When two is better than one
Most animals have separate and defined sexes. But, some animals from plants to fishes, start off their lives as one sex and then switch to the another. This process is called sequential hermaphroditism, and according to Yale scientists, this is an adaptive advantage. But not too many animals do it. Why? We don’t know – possibly because the time or energy it takes to change sex make hermaphroditism unfeasible for most animals.

Sexy songs
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, found that teenagers who preferred popular songs with degrading sexual references were more likely to engage in intercourse or in pre-coital activities. These findings were reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, in April. 711 students in year nine were interviewed. Those with the most exposure were more than twice as likely to have had sexual intercourse. In the US there are over 750,000 teenage pregnancies each year and up to 25 percent of all female adolescents in the US having sexually transmitted infections.