Being Gay Is For The Birds

Via Pink News:

A study has found that zebra finches can form lifelong same-sex relationships.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, chose the species to study because zebra finches are known for forming permanent monogamous relationships.

They found that when the birds were raised in same-sex groups, over half of the males formed same-sex couples. Even when females were introduced to the group, five out of the eight male couples ignored them and continued their relationships.

Researchers also found that the same-sex couples showed the same behaviour to each other as opposite-sex couples did, including nesting together, singing to each other, perching side by side and greeting each other.

Lead researcher Julie Elie told BBC Nature: “The research showed relationships in animals can be more complicated than just a male and a female who meet and reproduce, even in birds.

“A pair-bond in socially monogamous species represents a cooperative partnership that may give advantages for survival.

“Finding a social partner, whatever its sex, could be a priority.”

Super Gonorrhea could lead to 'global health threat'

This is quite alarming.  Via Reuters:

Scientists have found a "superbug" strain of gonorrhea in Japan that is resistant to all recommended antibiotics and say it could transform a once easily treatable infection into a global public health threat.

The new strain of the sexually transmitted disease -- called H041 -- cannot be killed by any currently recommended treatments for gonorrhea, leaving doctors with no other option than to try medicines so far untested against the disease.

Magnus Unemo of the Swedish Reference Laboratory for Pathogenic Neisseria, who discovered the strain with colleagues from Japan in samples from Kyoto, described it as both "alarming" and "predictable."

"Since antibiotics became the standard treatment for gonorrhea in the 1940s, this bacterium has shown a remarkable capacity to develop resistance mechanisms to all drugs introduced to control it," he said.

The team's analysis of the strain found it was extremely resistant to all cephalosporin-class antibiotics -- the last remaining drugs still effective in treating gonorrhea.

Finger length can reveal how large your penis is

It’s not just a myth, researchers say: If a man’s index and ring fingers are about the same length, there really is a higher probability that the length of his penis will correlate. It’s more likely to be longer, reported LiveScience on July 4.

The finding was announced in the Asian Journal of Andrology. According to researchers, the finger length/penis length correlation reflects hormone levels that influence an individual’s development in utero.

"The idea that men’s finger ratio and hormone exposure are linked is not a new one," the LiveScience article noted. "Studies have found that the ratio between the second and fourth finger is related to sperm count, likelihood of heart attack, hand preference, facial masculinity and more.

"One small 2002 study published in the journal Urology found a correlation between the length of the index finger and genital size in healthy men under 40, suggesting that testosterone exposure in the womb affects the growth of both."

What a relief. Now I can take down the secret webcam I set-up in my guest bathroom to figure this out.

Via EdgeChicago.

Tele-present Water

David Bowen's Tele-Present Water installation is a physical kinetic sculpture in Poland that re-creates the movement of waves at Shumagin Islands Alaska by interpreting data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Hamburgers made from poop

Would you eat this?!?

Unusually Long Lunar Eclipse on Wednesday

Via MSNBC:

"This month's full moon will pass almost directly through the center of Earth's shadow on Wednesday in what will be an unusually long total eclipse of the moon.

[The] lunar eclipse will be taking place during the morning early hours of Thursday as they are west of the International Date Line.

The eclipse won't be visible from North America due to its timing, which places the event in the daylight hours when the moon is behind the local horizon.

At mid-eclipse (2013 GMT), the moon will be passing just to the north of the center of the Earth's shadow.

As such, the duration of totality is an unusually long 100 minutes, which is just seven minutes shy of the absolute maximum for a total lunar eclipse. In fact, over the last 100 years, only three other eclipses have rivaled the duration of totality of this eclipse : The total lunar eclipse of July 16, 1935, lasted 101 minutes; the eclipse of July 6, 1982, lasted 107 minutes; the eclipse of July 16, 2000, lasted 107 minutes.

The next total lunar eclipse of exceptional length will come on July 27, 2018, and will last 106 minutes.

UPDATE: Check out a photoblog of pictures of the lunar eclipse taken around the world.