Sexting is now a normal part of the dating process, says one new study. (Joe Shoe/Flickr Creative Commons)
In case you needed another reason not to do ecstasy: ABCNews.com reports new research has linked the drug to memory loss, in particular when it came to associative memory. Researchers were surprised by how pronounced the memory loss was, given the little amount of ecstasy used and short timeframe of the study. But the study didn't use brain imaging to confirm whether brain damage took place, says one expert, and it doesn't rule out other causes.
In other risky behavior news, a new study says sexting – sending sexually-explicit photos, often of yourself, via text message – is now normal. (Researchers even said it's becoming part of the dating process.) The Missourian says a study found that while sexting is prevalent among young adults, it doesn't appear to be related to sexual risk or well-being.
Another study looked at consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks and causal, risky sex – and found that there was definitely a link. A study appearing in the Journal of Caffeine Research said college students who'd drank alcohol mixed with energy drinks were more likely to report having a casual sex partner and/or being drunk during their most recent sexual encounter. That's not good, say researchers, because casual, intoxicated sex is more likely to lead to things like unintended pregnancies, sexually-transmitted diseases, sexual assault and, further down the line, depression.
And now a different, more sinister type of questionable behavior: KPCC reports that 17 patients at Pomona Valley Hospital may have been the unwitting subjects of secret medical experimentation, with surgeons allegedly implanting folks with a non-FDA approved bone growth product without their approval. One of the patient's lawyers called it "Frankenstein-esque."
In obesity news, a study partly debunked the theory that Americans are so fat because we eat so much junk food and exercise so little. TiME reports that a study comparing humans today to their hunter-gatherer ancestors of yore found that hunter-gatherers' total energy output was, surprisingly, about the same as that of today's considerably fatter Westerners. That means, they concluded, that how much we eat may be the key factor in the obesity epidemic, rather than our levels of physical activity.
Finally: Women with diabetes, while just as likely to be interested and engage in sexual activity as non-diabetic women, are much more likely to report low, overall sexual satisfaction. So says a study in Obstetrics and Gynecology, which found that women on insulin were also at higher risk for complications of lubrication and orgasm.
Photo by Joe Shoe via Flickr Creative Commons.
