Growing up with sisters may lead to people being "happy and balanced"

From BBC, a study conducted by lead researcher Professor Tony Cassidy at the University of Ulster (UK) suggests that families with daughters are more "open and willing to discuss feelings," which can be especially important after stressful family events. The findings are to be presented at the British Psychological Society in Brighton.

Researchers quizzed 571 people aged 17 to 25 about their lives and found those who grew up with sisters were more likely to be happy and balanced.

During the study, participants filled in psychological questionnaires which researchers used to assess a range of issues, including whether they had a positive outlook and any mental health problems.

What do you think of this?

The article doesn't explain how the researchers controlled for other factors that may have contributed to the results, or why exactly having daughters in ones' family might contribute to someone ending up being "happy and balanced" compared to people growing up in families with brothers (brother were said to have the opposite effect).

The main reason I read the article was its tagline that read:

Sisters spread happiness while brothers breed distress, experts believe.

I'm not convinced at all yet. Will wait for more details.

Menstrual blood is the new black

Daaaaamn, I knew my menstrual blood was magical, but I didn't realize just how much:

Scientists say menstrual blood can repair hearts

Scientists obtained menstrual blood from nine women and cultivated it for about a month, focusing on a kind of cell that can act like stem cells.

Some 20 percent of the cells began beating spontaneously about three days after being put together in vitro with cells from the hearts of rats. The cells from menstrual blood eventually formed sheet-like heart-muscle tissue.

Take that, period-haters. I can repair a human heart with my blood. What can you do?

HT: Feministing

Einstein Who?

So, I'm taking an astronomy class this term and was just doing some reading for tomorrow when I discovered this:

"Our current system of stellar classification began at Harvard College Observatory." The observatory director had numerous assistants, whom he called "computers." Most of these "computers" were women....No one at the time knew why spectra followed the sequence. The correct answer - that all stars are made primarily of hydrogen and helium - was discovered by Cecilia Payne-Gaposchken...She published her discoveries in her doctoral thesis, which was later called "the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written."

Fucking Rad.

Girls Heart Science

This article in The New York Times definitely made me smile today.

A group of ten-year old girls, some with scientist mothers, had a "party" consisting of learning about the ingredients in various make-up products and making their own lipsticks.

While, I was hesitant at first about this article, thinking it was a little bit of gendered thinking to let girls learn about science through make-up, I am very glad to hear about young girls getting involved in science in anyway, and, if they are additionally learning about the various skeezy products we put on our faces all the better.

Best quote of the article: “O.K., so there’s no pig fat in lipstick, but people are still spending hundreds of dollars on a tube of fatty goop." - One of the ten-year old participants