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Pastimes : History's effect on Religion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (92)	5/8/2003 10:20:07 AM
From: zonder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 520

I searched Scientific American (early this morning) and there is no sign of this killer sperm story. I searched the net and I can find no sign of scientific studies suggesting killer sperms. Not to say it is not true. Perhaps it is. Then again, perhaps you would like to search for some evidence of this TV documentary you are talking about. So far, all we have is this book review that apparently appeared in SciAm: Even book reviews can yield delightful anomalies. Take, for example, the January Scientific American review of Human Sperm Competition, by R.R. Baker and M.A. Bellis. Baker and Bellis have advanced the Kamikaze-Sperm Hypothesis. (SF#78) Central to this idea is the observation that the sperm of many animals, including humans, are polymorphic. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some of which are patently unsuited for penetrating an egg. Baker and Bellis draw upon their own studies and classifications of sperm types as well as research by R.A. Beatty and D. Ralt. They assert that sperm come in at least four varieties: science-frontiers.com Oh and by the way, why am I searching for links to prove YOUR assertions? :-) Re sperm life - if 72 hours was the usual life span of sperms, then all we are taught about "period math" would be wrong and there would be A LOT of unwanted pregnancies around. Trust me on this. It is not true. What kind research has proven this "maximum" and "average" values? The kind of research that proves maximum and average shelf life for anthrax, and even life span of a human being - on observation, and depending on environmental factors like temperature, etc. The math you mention is not a reliable evidence. It is not evidence. It is the conclusion. It is just what has been suggested to people. And if four days was the life span of sperm in a woman, the "suggestion" would be to avoid sex in the WEEK starting the 10th day of her period. As it is, the suggestion is the 13-15th days. Evidence is that it WORKS and you don't get pregnant with this method. It was in our high school biology book, for crying out loud. I don't know what you are discussing here...