Jan 11, 2008 11:21 AM

No @#&!, Sherlock: Prehistoric Cave Bears Were Ferocious and Other Obvious Science

As teenage girls grow older, they’re less likely to proclaim the benefits of not having sex. That’s the most — or least — jaw-dropping of the self-evidence science published in 2008. After a holiday lull, these studies — so very obvious, but so very important — have returned with a bang. And for some reason, […]

As teenage girls grow older, they're less likely to proclaim the benefits of not having sex.

That's the most -- or least -- jaw-dropping of the self-evidence science published in 2008. After a holiday lull, these studies -- so very obvious, but so very important -- have returned with a bang. And for some reason, lots of them involve the behavior of adolescent girls.

Scientists also observed that teenage girls who eat with their families are less likely to suffer from eating disorders, while those who consider themselves uncool are more likely to gain weight. Once in college, young women drink lots of alcohol at themed parties featuring drinking games -- though they probably got their first taste by raiding their parents' stash.

Regardless of gender, physically active teens tend to become healthy adults. As adults, anxiety will increase their chances of suffering a heart attack, and marital turbulence tends to make women feel stressed.
Heart problems can be avoided by eating less and exercising more, though obese people often keep eating when they're already full; they also have trouble using seatbelts. When people lose their jobs because of health problems, their health gets even worse.

First impressions made by a CEO are very important to a company's success. One assumes this holds true in the pharmaceutical industry, which spends twice as much marketing and promoting drugs as developing them.

And to conclude this health-heavy list, a bit of news from the natural world: overgrazing leads to erosion, and prehistoric cave bears were ferocious.

Note: As always, we cover these findings because we value them. Not every study is a paradigm-shifting discovery, but they're still important.

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