Type of Weather Could Forecast Baby’s Gender
Wanted a girl but got a boy? Blame the weather, says an article last month in New Scientist magazine. According to a German researcher who ran the numbers on German birth records and temperatures from 1946 to 1995, he concluded that more boys are conceived after a heat wave and more girls after a cold snap.
Alexander Lerchl, a professor at the University of Muenster, theorizes that heat may break down the sperm carrying the X, or female, chromosome, making the Y-bearing sperm more dominant after hot spells. However, wait about a month after the cold or hot spell to time your conception so the sperm have time to mature.
But hold onto your booties a minute. Wouldn’t this mean we’d see more boys in countries near the equator while girls would proliferate in chillier climes? Nah. People dress according to the climate, says Lerchl, and skin temperatures don’t vary that much from region to region. What seems to matter is unseasonably hot or cold weather within a region.
Hmm. Well, if weather mapping doesn’t get you the gender you’re after, try timing--some say you should try to conceive closer to ovulation for a boy, further for a girl. If that fails, try different positions or have a lab spin sperm in a test tube to separate your Ys and Xs. Four kids later, odds are you’ll have at least one child of each sex. Or never mind any of that. Take what you get and hope it’s healthy.
The Biology of Getting Lost
And as long as we’re on the subject of male and female biology, here’s news explaining why men don’t ask for directions (like we women needed a study). British researchers used a mind-mapping technique called functional magnetic imaging to compare the brain activity of men and women, according to Health Scout, an online news service. The study, conducted on 10 women and 10 men at the Institute of Psychology in London and recently reported in the journal Electronic Telegraph, concluded that men indeed do better with spatial information--such as maps--and women do better with verbal information--that is, solving problems by talking.
No kidding. Just the other day at Home Depot, my husband dispatched me thus: “You go ask the guy where the cinder blocks are. I’ll go get the cart.” How valiant. Sends me out like a canary into the mine so he can save face. But he’s a guy, so I went.
Aquariums Help Calm Alzheimer’s Patients
Last week we told you about the rewards of fish ownership: less stress and depression, lower blood pressure, and fewer fights with your mate. (Anyone know whether St. John’s wort sales took a dive?) Well, it gets better: A new report out from Purdue University says that aquariums also help calm and focus Alzheimer’s patients.
Could that too be good for everyone? I can see the aquarium industry’s ad campaigns now: “Fish tanks restore marital harmony, help kids focus on homework and reduce gang violence.”
That may be stretching it, says Nancy Edwards, professor of nursing at Purdue, who conducted the study. However, what she did conclude after placing 5-foot-tall aquariums in three Alzheimer’s wards was that in the presence of the fish, patients became calmer, sharper and ate 17% more than before.
Those near the aquarium also paced less and were less aggressive. Hey, how about putting aquariums in pro hockey teams’ penalty boxes?
“Alzheimer’s patients are not a calm lot,” she said. “If aquariums help them, I should think they could help anyone feeling confused and stressed.” We’re there.
Those who would rather not house underwater inhabitants can try one of those aquarium videos they’re great on a big screen. Or try that swimming-fish screen saver, suggests Edwards. Couldn’t hurt.
