PARIS (AFP) - Men who enjoy warming their bottom on a heated car seat should beware, for they may also be frying their chances of fatherhood, New Scientist reports in its latest issue.
Sperm production is best when the temperature of the scrotum is one or two degrees Celsius (1.8-3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) below the core body temperature of 37 C (99 F).
Testicle-testing German researchers fitted sensors to the scrotums of 30 healthy men who then sat on a heated car seat for 90 minutes. Read more »
LONDON (AFP) - British towns and villages that want to keep the country’s famous red phone boxes will be able to do so, even if the phones are removed because they are no longer used enough, BT announced Wednesday.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - At least five “Barack Obamas” are vying to stand in October local elections in Brazil, the newspaper O Globo reported, as Brazilian candidates seek to ride on the popularity of the US presidential contender.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Shanghai police will post photos and videos of jaywalkers in newspapers and on TV in a bid to shame them out of breaking traffic rules, local media reported on Thursday.
HOSCHTON, Ga. - This small northeastern Georgia town’s population boom is frightening. In a bid to break a world record for scarecrows and scare up some fun for the fall season, thousands of straw-stuffed newcomers are creeping across town.
EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The Scottish government has declared war on increasingly aggressive urban seagulls.
TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government will have to pay damages to the parents of a sailor who hanged himself after being repeatedly insulted by his superior, in the first such court ruling involving a civil servant, media said.
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus’s popular holiday resort of Ayia Napa has introduced the island’s first legal beach exclusively for animals after complaints it was becoming a dog’s life for man’s best friend.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Three vast tunnels were opened under central Berlin this month, giving a glimpse of Adolf Hitler’s megalomaniac vision of a new architectural centre for the capital of Nazi Germany.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Wondering which way is north? You might want to look at grazing cows. European scientists who studied satellite images of cows and deer around the world have discovered that these animals tend to align themselves with Earth’s north-south magnetic fields while they graze or rest.