http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. In a Position Statement unveiled today, The Endocrine Society advocates that all methods for measuring estrogens, which play a crucial role in human biology, be made traceable to a common standard. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-estrogen-testing-methods-patient.html Health Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:08:15 EST news281722089 (Medical Xpress)—Clerical training fostered a predisposition to perpetrate child sexual abuse, study shows http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-clerical-fostered-predisposition-perpetrate-child.html Pediatrics Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:10:01 EST news280399230 Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology say cells from the amniotic membrane part of the placenta normally discarded after a woman gives birth could one day be a source for human eggs. The first-of-its-kind discovery was published online last month in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2012, 10:108). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-amniotic-sac-membrane-source-human.html Medical research Fri, 11 Jan 2013 08:26:57 EST news277115209 So, is it a girl or a boy? This is the first question parents ask at the birth of an infant. Though the answer is obvious, the mechanism of sex determination is much less so. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) attempt to shed light on this complex process by identifying the crucial role played by insulin and IGF1 and IGF2 growth factors, a family of hormones known for its role in metabolism and growth. In the absence of these factors at the time of sex determination, embryos do not differentiate into either male or female and have no adrenal glands. The results of this study, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, allow us to better understand sexual development and will eventually improve diagnosis and genetic counseling practices for individuals with disorders of sex development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-embryo-male-female.html Genetics Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:00:10 EST news276442976 Epigenetics – how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches, called epi-marks – appears to be a critical and overlooked factor contributing to the long-standing puzzle of why homosexuality occurs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-epigenetics-genetics-underlies-homosexuality.html Genetics Tue, 11 Dec 2012 09:08:48 EST news274439290 It's a common lament among parents: Kids are growing up too fast these days. Parents worry about their kids getting involved in all kinds of risky behavior, but they worry especially about their kids' forays into sexual relationships. And research suggests that there may be cause for concern, as timing of sexual development can have significant immediate consequences for adolescents' physical and mental health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-true-age-sexual-romantic-outcomes.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 17 Oct 2012 13:07:56 EST news269697766 (Medical Xpress) -- For young adults today who were weaned on iPods and the Internet, the practice of "sexting," or sending sexually explicit photos or messages through phones, may be just another normal, healthy component of modern dating. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-sexting-dating-internet.html Health Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:40:01 EST news262365878 Women are less prone to cardiovascular disease then men; but this difference between the sexes becomes less marked after the menopause. This observation is behind a great deal of received wisdom, where oestrogen is assumed to have a beneficial effect on the heart and blood vessels. Today, new data seems to question these presuppositions. A study has been conducted by a team of Inserm researchers, directed by Pierre-Yves Scarabin (Inserm Unit 1018 "Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health Research"), on 6,000 women aged over 65; its results demonstrate, for the first time, that women with high levels of oestradiol in their blood are exposed to a greater risk of myocardial infarction or strokes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-estrogen-cardiovascular-menopausal-women.html Cardiology Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:14:08 EST news258631693