Top 10 sexiest science stories of 2010

WASHINGTON - Whoever said science could never possibly be sexy didn’t have a chance to read this.

According to Discovery News, below is the list of the top 10 sexiest stories of 2010:

1. The naked dwarf: Known as the “Portrait of Dwarf Morgante,” the subject was a court jester, part of the Medici court in the Florentine Renaissance.

The paintings were grouped into a two-sided canvas, providing onlookers with a front- and rear-view.

Originally painted by Agnolo di Cosimo, better known as Bronzino, around 1553 with a full frontal view, the portrait was altered during the 18th century to hide the subject’s private parts.

2. Why booze makes everyone look attractive: A study found that a few drinks can affect the way you look at a person. Alcohol can inhibit our ability to detect asymmetry in faces. Symmetry is an important aspect of what makes a face attractive.

The study further suggests that men were less prone to losing their symmetry-detecting ability when intoxicated than women.

3. Women like to cozy up after sex: A study published this year in The Journal of Sex Research found that women usually want intimacy after a roll in the hay.

A cozy chat, a caress and other bonding behaviours are what women prefer after sex.

Men, on the other hand, typically want a drink, a smoke-anything that will increase the chances of a second encounter.

But in long-term relationships, both genders think it’s equally important to say, “I love you,” after sex.

4. Note to all single men out there: Wear more red - According to a study published this year in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, women are more attracted to men wearing red and find them more sexually desirable.

Red appears to signal rank in virtually all cultures. The researchers point out that China, Japan and sub-Saharan Africa populations have all tied red to prosperity and elevated status.

5. All a woman needs to attract a man is her natural scent: a study published in the journal Psychological Science found that men who caught the scent of an ovulating woman from a T-shirt had higher testosterone levels than men who smelled either fresh T-shirts or those from non-ovulating women.

6. While humans may not necessarily be enticed by the smell of perfume, big cats are a different story: Researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society found that jaguars, pumas and other wildlife were attracted to the smell of Calvin Klein’s Obsession for Men.

When around the scent, these cats would repeatedly sniff the source of the smell, lingering around its origin. One pair of jaguars even shows some very rarely seen mating behaviour, so the smell seems to turn these animals on.

7. Frogs sing during sex: Frogs apparently like to hear something smooth when they’re in their groove, according to research published in the journal Animal Behaviour.

In fact, some female frogs are known to sing during sex. The rhythmic click calls of the females are so attractive to males that they move rhythmically back and forth whenever they hear these calls during mating.

The song seems to turn the males on, according to the research.

8. Meet Roxxxy, the robotic companion who will-whether you’re entranced or repulsed by “her”-haunt your dreams.

This sex robot was initially designed to be a health aid, intended to provide extra care to patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions.

The robot didn’t catch on, so the inventors repurposed their design. Instead of a health care worker’s uniform, the robot wears lingerie.

Rather than providing drug information or exercise instructions, the robot’s voice function is used to create a sexy personality: ranging from shy [Frigid Farrah] to adventurous [S and M Susan].

9. Why men cheat: The answer is there’s no one answer, according to Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist at Rutgers University.

Fisher divides the brain into three systems: the sex drive, the desire for romantic love and attachment.

Because these systems don’t necessarily need to work together, “the brain is, alas, built to enable us to love more than one person at a time,” Fisher explained.

However, because we all have a different biological map, according to Fisher, some are more susceptible to cheating behaviour than others.

10. Long before human ancestors began pairing up, fish were having sex: Fossils of extinct fish from the genus Materpiscis found in the Gogo Formation of Western Australia suggest that sexual intercourse began as early as 410 million years ago.

Researchers made this connection after discovering a 380-million-year-old female specimen that still retained a single embryo connected by an umbilical cord.

The discovery of this kind of advanced reproductive technique among prehistoric fish fossils has important implications for our understanding of animal evolution. (ANI)