Cure For Depression?
From this month’s Psychology Today: The finding that women who do not use condoms during sex are less depressed and less likely to attempt suicide than are women who have sex with condoms and women who are not sexually active, leads one researcher to conclude that semen contains powerful-and potentially addictive-mood-altering chemicals. Semen contains hormones including testosterone, estrogen, prolactin, luteinizing hormone and prostaglandins, and some of these are absorbed through the walls of the vagina and are known to elevate mood.
The New York Times takes a look at the kissing controversies of the past week and plugs in some cool historical anthropology, too. From the Times, “The earliest written record of humans’ kissing appears in Vedic Sanskrit texts in India from around 1500 B.C., where certain passages refer to lovers setting mouth to mouth, according to Mr. Bryant. There is debate among scientists over whether the kiss is an innately human practice, or one that we fortuitously acquired along the way. Some trace it to the mother who made the first mouth-to-mouth transfer of pre-chewed food to her child; others to prettier biological Eureka-moments. But in general it is agreed that people kiss in private mainly because it is nice.”
From the Washington Times, “Many people claim expertise on psychic phenomena such as telepathy. But few can boast top-notch scientific credentials. That’s what separates Rupert Sheldrake from the New Age pack. A botanist who earned a doctorate in biochemistry from Cambridge University and later studied at Harvard University, Mr. Sheldrake has earned an international reputation for applying scientific method to quasi-scientific subjects. Mr. Sheldrake spoke over the weekend at the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology conference at the Westfields Conference Center in Chantilly, winning a standing ovation from the crowd of 350 and demonstrating why he’s the world’s foremost go-to guy on all things paranormal.”