(THE TIMES OF INDIA) 13 October 2007:

In a revealing piece of economic research, Randy Thornhill has been able to show that women are more attractive to men when they are at the fertile part of their monthly cycle. By studying lap dancers who were and were not using the contraceptive pill, he was able to show that those cycling naturally had higher earnings in their fertile days than those either outside this part of the cycle or on the pill.

(BOSTON GLOBE) 2 September 2007:

Most academic research now discounts the idea that the gender pay gap is caused by direct discrimination and points rather to the career interruptions caused by the having and raising of children. In the absence of men being the ones who get pregnant, what, exactly, could be done about this?

It might well be that it will sort itself out as a byproduct of womens’ now higher educational levels. Human resources departments now concentrate on “onramping,” the attracting back into the work force of those who have left to raise children. Increasingly, such women are highly educated and have had their children later in life than used to be the case. They often also have a decade or more experience of work.

Such potential employees are valuable: so companies are designing flexible work schedules to attract them: and thus might the gender pay gap close.

(CNN.COM) 17 July 2007:

Chimpanzees scampering on a treadmill have provided support for the notion that ancient human ancestors began walking on two legs because it used less energy than quadrupedal knuckle-walking, scientists said.

Overall, the chimpanzees used about the same amount of energy walking on two legs compared to four legs, but the researchers saw differences among the individual animals in how much energy they used based on their gaits and anatomy.

One, for example, used a longer stride and was more efficient walking on two legs than four, the researchers said.

(COGNITIVE DAILY) 14 July 2007

It’s one of those sit-com plots, that a woman will ponder over 13 different shades of peach while the man in the story can only see the one color. Clearly, just a joke?

Well, perhaps not. Recent research shows that there is more to color perception than previously thought. In general we have three different types of color receptor in our eyes (those with only two have one of the various forms of color blindness, something preponderantly male) but it’s been recently shown that some 50% of women (and almost no men) actually have four. When tested, the presence of this fourth does indeed lead to being able to perceive greater nuance in colors.

So the gag writers are correct: and the men should just sit back and let the women choose the color schemes.

(INSIGHT) 5 June 2007:

In a ground breaking piece of research, Deakin University in Australia has shown that comparing their own bodies to those of perfect models can make people unhappy.

For both men and women, the comparison between their own reality and buff and toned models was depressing. But from that the women tended to develop eating disorders. Men simply kept their current habits but stayed unhappy.

Whether this is as a result of women being more self-critical, or more willing to do something to change things, is as yet unknown.

(REUTERS) 13 February 2007:

The Family Planning Association in the UK has carried out research that delivers the the following results: Britons are confused about sex. A third of them believe that if a woman jumps up and down after sex then this will stop her getting pregnant. Other errors were in calculating the time of greatest fertility and how long sperm remains active in the body.

The fact that Britons are even willing to or capable of talking about sex is new.

As George Mikes said in his book How to be an Alien, published in 1947, the entirety of his chapter on sex was as follows:

The Continentals have sex lives: the British have hot water bottles.

An advance, surely?

(MEN’S HEALTH) November 2005:

According to a British study, the best gifts in a serious relationship are extravagant but have no takeaway value for her (to deter gold-diggers?).  For instance, expensive concert tickets or a weekend getaway, not rent money.  Costly gestures indicate long-term intentions.  From an evolutionary perspective, women are motivated to mate with men who are likely to stick around and help support babies.  Dates that require considerable planning are also effective.  Study coauthor Peter Sozou, Ph.D. says, “Anything that takes up a lot of a man’s time, as long as the woman is aware of it, could be a signal of future commitment.”

(MEN’S HEALTH) November 2005:

Is she really into you or does she want a promotion?  A Tulane University study found that 51% of 164 female MBA graduates admitted that they had engaged in sexual behaviors, such as sending flirty emails and wearing revealing clothing in order to get ahead at work.  Researchers note that those women may have low self-esteem and believe they need to rely on sex appeal rather than talent and abilities, to get ahead.