London, Aug 27 (ANI): A new study suggests that sex perverts can curb their abnormal sexual urges by choosing to be chemically castrated with drugs.

The drugs, according to Newcastle-based criminal psychiatrist Professor Don Grubin, are part of a trail scheme for perverts who have served their sentences but have not been cured of their urges.

"It is not part of the punishment. It aims to reduce the likelihood that they will need to be punished again," the Sun quoted Grubin as saying.

He, however, insisted that the treatment was a voluntary option, and no one would be forced to take it.

As per the tests that have been conducted abroad, the drugs work by reducing the perverts' testosterone levels and sex drives, cutting re-offending rates.

For leading anti-paedophile campaigners, the scheme is a very welcomed option.

"Anything which makes our children safer is a step in the right direction," Claude Knights of Kidscape as saying.

The most commonly used drugs include Depo Provera and Tamoxifen, and the process works by blocking brain hormones that trigger sexual urges. (ANI)

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Washington, August 27 (ANI): An international study has revealed that most men think that being seen as an honourable, self-reliant, and respected person is what defines masculinity rather than being seen as attractive, sexually active or successful with women.

Published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the study included interviews with over 27,000 randomly selected men from eight countries, namely Germany, U.S., U.K., Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and France. About 16 per cent of the subjects reported erectile problems.

The study revealed that the men more frequently ranked good health, harmonious family life and good relationships with their wife or partner as more important to their quality of life than material, self-fulfilling or purely sexual concerns.

There was no significant difference in rankings of masculinity and quality of life characteristics between men with and without erectile dysfunction.

"Many meanings, positive and negative, are attached to the term, 'masculinity'. To ask a large sample of men what comprises their own sense of masculinity is very useful for both the media and for research. These results suggest we should pay attention and ask rather than presume we know," said Julia Heiman, director of The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University and an author of this study. (ANI)

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Bhopal, Aug 27 (ANI): Zoo authorities in Bhopal celebrated the birthday of 'Rini', a white tigress on Tuesday, who is currently battling with cancer.

Rini, an inmate of the Van Vihar zoo, is undergoing treatment for cancer for the past six months. So the celebrations of of birthday this year were held with special prayers for her speedy recovery.

Elaborate arrangements were made for her birthday party with the state forest minister himself gracing the occasion.

The zoo authorities hoped that she would recover soon as she was responding well to the chemotherapy.

"She has completed 18 years today. She was diagnosed with cancer six months back, and is being treated for the disease. There is slight improvement in her condition now. We are hopeful that she will recover soon," said Atul Gupta, Veterinarian, Van Vihar Zoo.

Rini was shifted to the Van Vihar zoo in 1995 from the Nandankanan zoo in Orissa and since then the zoo authorities celebrate her birthday every year.

According to the latest census figures as of 2007, the tiger population in India is dwindling despite the development of special reserves under 'Project Tiger' launched in 1972.

The tiger population across the nation, particularly those outside protected reserves, faces a variety of threats, including habitat fragmentation, encroachment, and poaching and developmental projects. These problems are directly or indirectly linked to anthropogenic factors. (ANI)

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Washington, August 27 (ANI): Scientists are planning to place a grid of undulating strips made of a plastic like material on the bottom of a river in a town in the US, which is expected to generate between 20 to 40 per cent of the town's electricity.

Vandergrift, the town in question, is located in Penn state, US.

Using a grid of electricity-generating smart materials on the bottom of the Kiskiminetas River, combined with a host of energy conservation efforts, Vandergrift hopes to generate between 20 and 40 percent of the city center's electricity.

"Vandergrift is trying to be the model green town," said Lisa Weiland, a scientist at the University of Pittsburgh who is involved in the project.

Vandergrift, which is northeast of Pittsburgh, was originally supposed to be the model steel town, but now, according to Weiland, it is "reinventing itself and going for sustainability."

That sustainable power will most likely come from a grid of undulating strips made of polyvinylidene fluoride or PVDF, a material that generates a slight electrical current when it is moved, in this case, by the currents and eddies in the Kiskiminetas River.

Such materials are described as piezoelectric, and the resulting electrical current would pass to small substations along the river's edge before charging a group of batteries.

"There are other materials that give better performance or have higher energy densities," said Weiland. "But we're willing to sacrifice a little power to keep the ecosystem happy," she said.

The Kiskiminetas River, or the Kiski, as it's more informally known, is about 40 yards wide where it passes Vandergrift.

Weiland currently plans to lay a grid, 30 yards wide and about a mile long, down on the river bed to help power the city.

The exact details about how dense the grid would be, how long the PVDF strips will be, or even when the grid would be laid down, are still being worked out.

But whatever the final plans are, the researchers claim that they will maintain the health and appearance of the Kiski, which is used for fishing, canoe trips and other recreational activities.

"If you looked down at the grid, it wouldn't look that different from seaweed," said Weiland.

According to Christopher Lynch, a smart materials researcher from the University of California, Los Angeles, this is the first freshwater hydroelectric power project of its kind.

Though Weiland's method likely wouldn't generate as much energy as a hydroelectric dam, it would keep the river intact and healthy. (ANI)

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