Today in Research: Testosterone's Negative Effects; Diet Soda Death

Discovered: Nuclear accidents aren't so bad; diet soda is unhealthy; why men are such jerks; a new, old crocodile; college ruins marriageability.

Diet soda is unhealthy. Please, please don't take away diet soda from us, science. Last week it was caffeine and now we can't even enjoy a mid-afternoon Diet Coke break without imagining heart attacks and hospital beds. Looking at 2,564 drinkers of calorie-free soda, researchers found cola addicts were 43 percent more likely to suffer a vascular event than those who abstained. Boo. Of course calorie-free, caffeinated, fizzy deliciousness kills us. Of course. [Journal of General Internal Medicine] Testosterone makes people awful. This explains a lot. Testosterone, the hormone men have more of, makes humans both more egotistical and less cooperative -- an unsavory combination of personality traits. "We have shown that, in fact, testosterone also affects our decisions, by making us more egotistical," explains Dr. Nick Wright. "Sometimes, too much testosterone can help blind us to other people's views." Though we'd like to say this only applies to dudes, the study observed the same behavior in women with too much of the hormone. [Welcome Trust]

Read the full story at The Atlantic Wire.

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Today in Research: Testosterone's Negative Effects; Diet Soda Death

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