Improbable Research

You may find it stressful to contemplate this study about attractiveness:

“Facial attractiveness is related to women’s cortisol and body fat, but not with immune responsiveness,” Markus J. Rantala [pictured here, below], Vinet Coetzee, Fhionna R. Moore, Ilona Skrinda, Sanita Kecko, Tatjana Krama, Inese Kivleniece and Indrikis Krams, Biology Letters, epub May 22, 2013.  The authors, variously at the University of Turku, Finland, the University of Pretoria, South Africa, the University of Dundee, Scotland, the University of Daugavpils, Latvia, and the University of Tartu, Estonia, explain:

“we photographed young Latvian women, vaccinated them against hepatitis B and measured the amount of specific antibodies produced, cortisol levels and percentage body fat. Latvian men rated the attractiveness of the women’s faces. Interestingly, in women, immune responsiveness (amount of antibodies produced) did not predict facial attractiveness. Instead, plasma cortisol level was negatively associated with attractiveness, indicating that stressed women look less attractive.”

Here is a photograph of lead author Markus Rantala on horseback:

(Thanks to investigator Erwin Kompanje for bringing this to our attention.)

The beginning of a news report on the Wicked Local web site, in Massachusetts:

In Framingham, man caught with crack in buttocks

By Norman Miller/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Posted May 16, 2013 @ 12:01 AM

FRAMINGHAM — A Dorchester man who sold drugs hid a plastic bag full of crack cocaine in his buttocks on Tuesday, a prosecutor said Wednesday in Framingham District Court [pictured here].

Police arrested Dekara Anderson, 38, at 8:45 p.m. after a foot chase and being shocked twice with a Taser, prosecutor James Kerr said during Anderson’s arraignment….

(HT Adam K Olsen)

BONUS: Dekara Anderson wants you to be his pen pal

The simple concept of evolution inspires some academics to pursue sexy ideas or other entities:

“The dating mind: Evolutionary psychology and the emerging science of human courtship,” Nathan Oesch and Igor Miklousic, Evolutionary Psychology, vol.10, no. 5, 2011, pp.  899-909.   The authors, at the University of Oxford and the Institute of social sciences Ivo Pilar, write:

“In the New York Times bestselling book The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists (2006), the world was granted its first exclusive introduction to the steadily growing dating coach and pick-up artist community. Many of its most prominent authorities claim to use insights and information gleaned both through first-hand experience as well as empirical research in evolutionary psychology. One of the industry’s most well-respected authorities, the illusionist Erik von Markovik, promotes a three-phase model of human courtship: Attraction, building mutual Comfort and Trust, and Seduction. The following review argues that many of these claims are in fact grounded in solid empirical findings from social, physiological and evolutionary psychology.”

(Thanks to Martin Robbins for bringing this to our attention.)

BONUS: Neil Strauss, author of the book analyzed in this study, displays his knowledge:

Some men like to complain. Some people think about how to respond to those complaints. Thus this study:

“Position Paper: Management of Men Complaining of a Small Penis Despite an Actually Normal Size,” Hussein Ghanem [pictured here, below], Sidney Glina, Pierre Assalian, Jacques Buvat, Journal of Sexual Medicine, vol. 10, no. 1, January 2013, pp. 294–303. The authors, at Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, Hospital Ipiranga, São Paulo, Brazil, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, Canada, AND Centre ETPARP, Lille, France, explain:

“We reviewed the literature and evaluated the evidence about what the normal penile size is, what patients complaining of a small penis usually suffer from, benefits vs. complications of surgery, penile stretching or traction devices, and outcome with patient education and counseling…. We propose a practical approach for evaluating and counseling patients complaining of a small-sized penis.”

Lead author Hussein Ghanem

(Thanks to investigator Neil Martin for bringing this to our attention.)

BONUS (possibly unrelated): The song “Hormones”, with music by Jacques Buvat, possibly not the same Jacques Buvat:

NOTE (added May 10, 2013, the day after this blog entry first appeared): We received this note, from which we have redacted the name of the teacher and the school. The school is in Indiana, USA):

May I start by saying I have enjoyed using your website for educational purposes for my 5th graders. I was shocked today though to see the story about vibrators. I had to stop my 5th graders and ask them to continue on to the next website on their list and cross that one off. Please consider keeping the material clean and fit for educational purposes. I would love to be able to let the kids surf on the site.
Sincerely,
[name redacted]
Computer Teacher
[name redacted] Christian School

*** OUR ORIGINAL BLOG ITEM APPEARS BELOW ***

A note was sent to journalists, in an attempt to create what’s known as “buzz”. One of those journalists sent it to us. Here’s the text of that note, with identifying info removed:

Subject: OPPORTUNITY: Leading ____ OB/GYN Prescribes Vibrators as Alternative to Hormone Therapy

How are you? I wanted to gauge your interest in unique story: I’m working with Dr. ____, a leading OB/GYN from ____, for an alternative, non-hormonal approach to help peri-menopausal, menopausal or post-menopausal women ward off pelvic conditions: vibrators.

While most people today wouldn’t think of vibrators as medical aids–ironic since the devices were first created by Victorian era doctors to cure women of “hysteria”–the reality is, vibrators offer more benefits than just orgasms (although that is a nice side effect, clearly). Dr. ____ is one of the first nationally-known gynecologists to tout the preventive and therapeutic benefits for women and deflect any embarrassment or stigmas about using a vibrator. Sexual stimulation, particularly dual stimulation products like the ____ that Dr. ____ recommends to her patients, increase blood flow and help release natural hormones and prevent conditions ranging from sexual dysfunction, painful sex and vaginal atrophy to incontinence. Like any muscle: If you don’t use it, you lose it.

Deterioration is particularly common as more middle age or older women find themselves in situations where they aren’t sexually active (single, divorced, widowed or aren’t having regular sex with partners). Dr. ____ is working to educate women that vibrators aren’t something to be embarrassed about–and in fact, they’re a great option to keep them healthy, particularly if hormonal therapy isn’t an option.

Does this sound of interest? I would love to facilitate an interview with Dr. ____. Her bio is below. Please let me know either way. Thanks!

(Thanks to Ivan Oransky for bringing this to our attention. Thanks to Denise Graveline for the wholly appropriate, if only partly wholesome, pun on “buzz”.)