Abstinence-only sex education has been a detriment to our nation's sexual health that we seemed to be leaving behind. The Obama administration's decision last year to cut funding for abstinence-only programs in favor of scientifically reliable programs marked a new opportunity to provide young people with the tools that they needed. As an organization that promotes sexual learning throughout the lifespan, the NSRC was excited by the prospect of national sex education that could provide our nation's youth with tools for a sexually healthy present and future. That's why we were alarmed by a recent Washington Post article by Rob Stein about a study of an abstinence only program that was more effective than comprehensive sex education. The study showed that the abstinence-only program had slightly higher levels of students postponing sex during the research period, but the article framed the results as a major turning point for abstinence-only sex education, one that could potentially alter the future landscape of sex education by continuing abstinence-only sex education.

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Think your man’s too macho? A new nasal spray may turn him into a sensitive romantic who’s tuned in to your every mood.

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SYDNEY — Tobacco companies would be forced to use plain, logo-free packaging on their cigarettes in a bid to make them less attractive to smokers under legislation introduced Thursday by Australia's government, which dubbed the move a world-first.The rules, which would take effect July 1, 2012, would ban tobacco companies from including logos, promotional text or colorful images on cigarette packages. Graphic government health warnings would be prominently displayed instead, with the brand name relegated to tiny, generic font at the bottom.

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KFC's move to team up with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure to fight breast cancer has some folks clucking in outrage. The fried chicken chain, purveyor of a food that may contribute to obesity, partnering with the world’s largest breast cancer organization?

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Bruce Feiler's twin daughters, Eden and Tybee, were 3 when he was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in 2008. Just days afterward, the best-selling Brooklyn author came up with the idea of asking six friends to look out for his daughters should he not survive. Feiler's moving new book, "The Council of Dads," tells their story.

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A young farmer who suffered a gunshot wound to the face has received the world's first full facial transplant at a hospital in Spain.
The 24-hour operation, carried out by a 30-member surgical team at Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona, marks the first time an entire face — including the skin, muscles, teeth, lips, cheekbones and jaw — has been transplanted and reconstructed, using tissue from a brain-dead donor, the Times of London reported.

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A mysterious new strain of airborne fungus that has mystified scientists is rolling through the Northwestern U.S. and Canada, leaving at least six people dead in its wake.

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Botox may kill your wrinkles, but it could also cost you your social life, a new study suggests.Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison published in the journal Psychological Science found that the wrinkle-smoothing treatment not only stops frown lines, it also increases the amount of time it takes to react to emotional events - potentially leading to socially awkward encounters.

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THE SPECIALIST: DR. ARTHUR JENKINS ON SPINAL TUMORS

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Near-death experiences like seeing a bright light at the end of a tunnel may occur because of high carbon dioxide levels in the blood, according to a new study reported by BBC News.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it was reviewing the safety of triclosan, a widely used antibacterial agent found in soap, toothpaste and a range of other consumer products.

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Some people work out to look good naked. Others skip a step.
Inside a heavily curtained fourth-floor dance studio is a male-only class specializing in "Hot Nude Yoga," a form of sensualized tantric yoga practiced nude.

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Many successful dieters get stuck near the end of their weight loss journey, but nutritionists and trainers say there are ways to move past the frustration:
Reconsider your weight goal. You may have set your target too low. Think more about health and fitness level, as well as body fat percentage.

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As a parent, you want Amber Madison to explain sexting to you. Not the definition — you're clear as a bell on that. You want her to explain why. Why kids do it and what you can do to stop it and what, by the way, has the world come to?

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Hi Cecilia. This is a great question, as skipping breakfast has been linked to childhood obesity, diminished health and nutrition status and compromised school performance. Breakfast quality is just as important as consuming breakfast regularly. Research shows that eating a lower glycemic index breakfast (one that raises blood sugar levels more gradually), can improve school performance and may also help with blood sugar control throughout the day. Whole grains are generally lower glycemic, as they are higher in fiber and less processed. In addition, adding lean protein or healthy fat to a meal decreases the glycemic index, so there are lots of healthy options beyond cereal, oatmeal and eggs. Here are a few suggestions:

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Imagine being charged with a crime, but an imaginary friend takes the rap for you.
That is essentially what happened when Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, was caught illegally marketing Bextra, a painkiller that was taken off the market in 2005 because of safety concerns.

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Risk-taking peaks in adolescence, according to scientists at UCL (University College London).
In research published in the journal Cognitive Development, children, adolescents and adults aged 9-35 years chose between risky and safe options in a computer gambling game. Scientists found that the teenagers took the most risks compared with the other groups, with the most risky behaviour seen in 14-year olds.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), SNM and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) are hosting a joint two-topic workshop, April 13-14, 2010 at the Natcher Conference Center of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. The first day of the workshop will focus on general issues of standardization to control variability and inconsistency in methods of acquisition, interpretation and analysis of images in clinical trials. The second day of the workshop consists of an interactive tutorial on ways to address the FDA regulatory expectations for positron emission tomography (PET) drugs, particularly with respect to the recently issued regulations establishing the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP).

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The clinical symptoms of alcoholic peripheral neuropathy were described more than 200 years ago. The descriptions by Lettsom (1787)1 and Jackson (1822)2 have led to the recognition and association of peripheral nerve disease with excessive ethanol use. Several terms connote alcohol neuropathy, including neuritic beriberi, neuropathic beriberi, and alcoholic neuritis. In patients with alcoholic neuropathy, nutritional deficiency goes hand in hand with alcohol abuse.The similarity between beriberi, which is caused by deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B 1 ), and alcoholic neuropathy had long been noted, but in 1928, Shattuck was the first to seriously discuss the relationship.3 He suggested that polyneuritis of chronic alcoholism was caused chiefly by failure to take or assimilate food containing a sufficient quantity of vitamin B complex and might properly be regarded as true beriberi. However, this theory may be only partially true. Independently of thiamine deficiency, ethanol now appears to have a direct toxic effect on peripheral nerves.

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A disaster occurs somewhere in the world almost daily; however, to most people, disasters of the type discussed in this article are unusual events. A group of disasters, starting with the September 11th terrorist attacks and continuing through the tsunami affecting countries throughout the Indian Ocean, the South Asia earthquake in Pakistan, the 2005 and 2008 Gulf Coast hurricanes, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti have focused people's attention upon this topic.

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