Life

Sperm count drop 'could make humans extinct'

Researchers assessing the results of nearly 200 studies say sperm counts among men from North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, seem to have halved in less than 40 years.

Some experts are sceptical of the Human Reproduction Update findings.

But lead researcher Dr Hagai Levine said he was "very worried" about what might happen in the future.

The assessment, one of the largest ever undertaken, brings together the results of 185 studies between 1973 and 2011.

Turns out we may all be made of stardust

A new study claims we might all be part-alien.

Supercomputer simulations conducted by a team of astrophysicists at Northwestern University suggest that each of us -- and everything in our galaxy -- may have been expelled vast distances across the universe by exploding supernovas.

Thrown into space with such force, streams of charged atoms are blasted away from their original galaxy's gravitational pull and carried to our Milky Way on "powerful galactic winds."

Drinking more coffee leads to a longer life, two studies say

The findings have resurfaced the centuries-old conversation on coffee's health effects.

One study surveyed more than 520,000 people in 10 European countries, making it the largest study to date on coffee and mortality, and found that drinking more coffee could significantly lower a person's risk of mortality.

'I fell in love and married a man with dwarfism'

But when they first got together, Chloe, 23, faced opposition from her family because James, 29, suffered from a rare genetic condition which causes dwarfism. Here Chloe recounts how their relationship unfolded.

As the phone rang I was nervous. I was about to tell my mum about my new boyfriend and I knew she would be shocked, so I had left it until I was on my journey back to university, almost 200 miles (320km) away.

The world's strangest sperm

The egg meanwhile is the largest cell and similarly intricate. Looking further out into the natural world, the diversity of these sex cells, or gametes, is truly remarkable.

Most species have two gametes, which we term male and female.

The asylum detainee who shot a film in secret

Behrouz Boochani is messaging me on WhatsApp from Australia's offshore detention facility in Manus Island, Papua New Guinea (PNG), where he has been since 2013 after fleeing his home country of Iran.

The Kurdish journalist has just finished his biggest project yet - a full-length feature film, shot using his iPhone and smuggled out over the internet in small clips, beneath the radar of his guards.

Behind the famous ‘36 questions that lead to love’

But what if falling in love is actually a recipe - where all you need is one partner, three dozen questions, and four uninterrupted minutes of looking deeply into each other’s eyes?

Arthur Aron, professor of psychology at the State University of New York, is now famous for developing 36 questions that bring people closer together - most recently brought into the limelight by an iconic New York Times Modern Love column.

'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

They also smoke a lot less, but they do get more infections which could potentially increase the risk of heart problems by causing inflammation in the body.

Saying 'I don't': The case for not getting married

There was no god, no government, no commitment ceremony. There was no seating plan, no name-changing, no gifts.

There was no dieting, no Spanx, no Botox, no fake tan, no bucks night, no bridesmaids — none of the hallmarks of a typical wedding.

Instead, I was a 47-year-old, 90-kilo bride in a magenta-coloured dress the groom chose and purchased online for $260.

Why live there?

And decisions that need careful consideration are “job” and “where to live”.

Many factors come into play during this time, including family, finance, security and services.

Loop PNG carried out a brief survey on where youths of this era prefer to live and work, given the option between the capital city Port Moresby and another province.

Here are a few:

Elly Launa Poga (currently lives and works in Port Moresby)