research

That's the takeaway of a series of four studies of committed couples in both the United States and Switzerland.

Chemicals from dandelion root and the "thunder god vine" plant have long been used in traditional medicines.

Now, Californian researchers have found they can also block fertilisation.

A UK sperm expert said the discovery could lead to a new and novel approach to male contraception.

But the compounds existed at such low levels in plants that the cost of extraction was very high, the US team said.

A couple of bad nights is enough to make a person look "significantly" more ugly, their sleep experiments suggest.

Dark-circled "panda" eyes and puffy lids can even put others off socialising with you, they say.

People were rated by strangers as less healthy and approachable when they had tired faces.

The experiment

The researchers asked 25 university students, some male and some female, to be the guinea pigs in their sleep experiment.

The paper, published Wednesday, found that 20-year-olds who started with antiretroviral therapy in 2010 are predicted to live up to 10 years longer than those who first underwent similar treatment in 1996 -- when it first became widely available.

Researchers at Bristol University in the UK said the improvements are due to fewer side effects and less toxic drugs with greater options for patients who are infected with drug-resistant HIV strains.

Researchers looked at the displays in female fashion shops in two UK cities.

They concluded that if people were the same size as the mannequins they would be "considered medically unhealthy".

"There is clear evidence showing that the ultra-thin ideal is contributing to the development of mental health problems and eating disorders," writes Dr Eric Robinson, the study's author.

The Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre is going to put this question to the test as part of its Sing to Beat Parkinson's program.

The Australian-first study encourages program participants diagnosed with Parkinson's to sing on a weekly basis as part of a group.

Irene Bartlett from Griffith University said they would study each of the participants' lives closely to see what benefits came from singing.

"We're wanting to get empirical evidence that singing is helpful and useful for quality of life," Dr Bartlett said.

Doctors James Hudson and Enzo Porello from the University of Queensland worked with German researchers to create the samples in a laboratory, and will use them to study cardiac biology and diseases.

"The patented technology enables us to now perform experiments on human heart tissue," Dr Hudson said.

Up until now researchers have had no "living" tissue to study, but now scientists have a viable, functioning heart muscle to work on.

Dr Hudson said it would help them model the cardiovascular disease, screen new drugs and investigate heart repair.

New research by a team at University of Queensland (UQ), led by muscle physiologist Dr Bradely Launikonis, found it was part of a protective mechanism stopping people from damaging themselves in the days following exercise.

In the world-first study, Dr Launikonis's team have mapped muscle fibres from thigh biopsies at three points in the exercise cycle.

"This is the first time this type of imaging has been done in human muscles, everything before that been done in mice and rats," Dr Launikonis said.

The K2 million government funded infrastructure is one of the many developments undertaken by the school to cope with increasing enrollments.

The hall was formally opened by Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Francis Marus and witnessed by the school board & management, teachers and students.

School Principal, John August, said several other projects were financed by the college itself through fundraising as a communal effort to develop the institution. 

“I believe in doing first before asking.”