/oss/taxonomy/term/2116/all en /oss/article/medical-environment/curious-sexual-and-asexual-habits-mighty-mite <p>Have you ever heard of pancake syndrome? No, it’s not the medicalization of having breakfast for dinner, nor is it a skin rash reminiscent of those delicious flat cakes. It’s a severe allergic reaction that follows exposure to wheat flour. But there’s a twist.</p> Thu, 02 Mar 2023 22:33:42 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9421 at /oss /oss/article/history-general-science/how-come-you-never-see-baby-housefly <p>Simple. Because baby houseflies don’t exist. A little backgrounder on the flies’ reproductive cycle can clear up this apparent conundrum. Within a week of mating, a doggie-style activity lasting from a few seconds to several minutes, not unlike humans, a female fly will lay an average of 120 eggs. Nice warm manure is preferred. Then in roughly 12 days, the eggs develop into larvae, then into maggots, and then into pupae from which flies emerge fully grown. That’s why you will never see a baby fly!</p> Fri, 16 Jul 2021 22:03:34 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8787 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/what-expect-covid-19-vaccine-when-youre-expecting-or-breastfeeding <p>What should public health bodies do in the absence of data? And, even more importantly, what should the people left to make an important health decision do when no data is available?</p> <p>I have seen a lot of anxiety over the question of whether or not people who are pregnant or breastfeeding should get the COVID-19 vaccine. These very same people were prevented from participating in the large clinical trials in which these vaccines were put to the test. Therefore, we don’t have trial data on these groups of people, but they must now make a decision based on seemingly no data at all.</p> Fri, 28 May 2021 20:21:06 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8750 at /oss /oss/article/evolution-health-history-sex/it-wont-grow-hair-your-palms-or-make-you-blind <p>Valentine’s Day is here and everyone is talking about love! But for many people in our modern society, a fulfilling love life also involves an active and healthy sex life. Although we have come a long way in the liberation of our minds and bodies from cultural taboos and socially imposed restrictions on our sexual attitudes and activities, we still carry with us many remnants from the past, from times when natural aspects of sexuality were frowned upon, discouraged or even demonized. Despite our recent sexual revolution, for many of us, the topics of sex and its idiosyncrasies are still dif</p> Sun, 14 Feb 2016 05:03:01 +0000 Adam Oliver Brown PhD 2319 at /oss