Does semen have antidepressant properties?

Archives of Sexual Behavior
June 2002, Volume 31, Issue 3, pp 289-293

Gordon G. Jr. Gallup, Rebecca L. Burch, Steven M. Platek

Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York

Abstract

In a sample of sexually active college females, condom use, as an indirect measure of the presence of semen in the reproductive tract, was related to scores on the Beck Depression Inventory. Not only were females who were having sex without condoms less depressed, but depressive symptoms and suicide attempts among females who used condoms were proportional to the consistency of condom use. For females who did not use condoms, depression scores went up as the amount of time since their last sexual encounter increased. These data are consistent with the possibility that semen may antagonize depressive symptoms and evidence which shows that the vagina absorbs a number of components of semen that can be detected in the bloodstream within a few hours of administration.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1015257004839

The first case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard Anas platyrhynchos (Aves: Anatidae)

DEINSEA 8: 243-247 [ISSN 0932-9308]
Published 9 November 2001

C.W. Moeliker

Natuurmuseum Rotterdam

On 5 June 1995 an adult male mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) collided with the glass façade of the Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam and died. An other drake mallard ‘raped’ the corpse almost continuously for 75 minutes. Then the author disturbed the scene and secured the dead duck. Dissection showed that the rape-victim indeed was of the male sex. It is concluded that the mallards were engaged in an ‘Attempted Rape Flight’ that resulted in the first described case of homosexual necrophilia in the mallard.

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/papers/duck.pdf

A comparison of jump performances of the dog flea, Ctenocephalides canis (Curtis, 1826) and the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis felis (Bouché, 1835)

Veterinary Parasitology
Volume 92, Issue 3, 1 October 2000, Pages 239–241

Marie-Christine Cadiergues [a], Christel Joubert [a], Michel Franc [b]

[a] Unité de Dermatologie-Parasitologie, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse 23, chemin des Capelles 31076, Toulouse cedex 3, France
[b] Unité Associée INRA de Physiopathologie et Toxicologie expérimentales, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse 23, chemin des Capelles 31076, Toulouse cedex 3, France

Abstract

Jump performances of Ctenocephalides canis and Ctenocephalides felis felis have been measured and compared on unfed young imagos. The mean length of the C. felis felis jump was 19.9±9.1 cm; minimum jump was 2 cm, and the maximum was one 48 cm. The C. canis jump was significantly longer (30.4±9.1 cm; from 3 to 50 cm). For height jump evaluation, grey plastic cylindric tubes measuring 9 cm in diameter were used. Their height was increasing from 1 to 30 cm by 1 cm. Groups of 10 fleas of the same species were deposited on the base of the tube. The number of fleas which succeeded in jumping above the tube was recorded. The mean height jump carried out by 50% of fleas was calculated after linearisation of the curves: it was 15.5 and 13.2 cm for C. canis and C. felis, respectively. The highest jump was 25 for C. canis and 17 cm for C. felis.

Keywords

Ctenocephalides canis; Ctenocephalides felis felis; Jump performance

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304401700002740

Case report: sexual intercourse as potential treatment for intractable hiccups

Canadian Family Physician • Le Médecin de famille canadien
vol. 46 no. 8 1631-1632
August • Août 2000

Roni Peleg MD, Aya Peleg PHD

Dr R. Peleg is a Lecturer in the Department of Family Medicine and Dr A. Peleg is an Instructor in the Unit for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, both in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.

Hiccup is a pathologic respiratory reflex characterized by a spasm of one or both sides of the diaphragm, causing sudden inspiration and associated closure of the vocal cords. Accessory muscles of respiration are occasionally involved.

Hiccups are usually harmless and self-limiting. Cases have been reported, however, in which hiccups became intractable (singultus) causing insomnia, wasting, exhaustion, and even death. These consequences have prompted scientific scrutiny of an other-wise harmless curiosity.

We  report a case of intractable hiccups that began following treatment with corticosteroids and lasted for 3 days. The hic-cups ended immediately and completely following sexual intercourse.

[...]

Key points

•A 40-year-old man’s 4 days of continuous hiccuping ceased immediately following sexual intercourse.
•The mechanism of sympathetic stimulation similar to being startled has been proposed as an explanation.
•Nothing in the literature corroborates our finding.

Points de repère

•Le hoquet continuel pendant quatre jours d’un homme de 40 ans a cessé immédiatement après qu’il a eu une relation sexuelle.
•Le mécanisme de la stimulation sympathique, sem-blable à celui provoqué par la surprise, a été pro-posé comme explication.
•Rien dans les ouvrages scientifiques ne vient cor-roborer notre conclusion.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2144777/