Scientists reveal that garlic can improve men's performance in the bedroom, adding to its ability to prevent heart disease and uses to fight cancer and the MRSA superbug, a drug resistant infection.

According to scientific discovery, garlic widens arteries subsequently improving blood flow to the groin. It is also known to boost creation of nitric oxide, a chemical involved in triggering erections

After studying 150 fishermen, researchers discovered that exposure to certain pollutants that are a bi-product of industrial and agricultural processes increased the Y chromosome sperm. However, lead researcher, from Lund University in Sweden, Professor Aleksander Giwercman said a larger population sample would be needed to confirm if the effect would lead to more boys being born. The researchers analyzed the effect of exposure to two persistent organochlorine pollutants - DDE and CB-153 - which is most likely to come from eating fatty fish such as salmon. According to the Human Reproduction journal, 20% of men with the highest exposure to DDE compared with the 20% with the lowest exposure had 1.6% more sperm with the Y chromosome. For CB-153 there was a 0.8% increase. Dr. Allan Pacey, a specialist in male fertility at the University of Sheffield and secretary of the British Fertility Society, said, "It is the first time I have heard of pollutants having this effect...if this is so it is possible others could have a similar impact and that could have huge consequences

New research indicates 7-percent of middle school girls and 5-percent of high school girls say they have used steroids at least once. The annual government-sponsored study says most girls who try performance-enhancing drugs want to get bigger and stronger, while some would like to lose weight and develop a more muscular physique. The report also indicates the same girls who have eating disorders are often the same ones who try steroids. Charles Yesalis, a professor of health and human development at Pennsylvania State University, says "There's been a substantial increase for girls during the 1990s, and it's at an all-time high right now." He says some girls start experimenting as early as age nine. Analysts say side effects from using male sex hormones can include smaller breasts, a deeper voice, irregular periods, severe acne, excess body hair and facial hair, "roid rage" (fits of anger), depression, and paranoia. Scientists say steroids also carry higher risks of some forms of cancer, stroke, and heart attack

The morning after pill gets approved for over-the-counter sales in Canada. The drug levonorgestrel, sold under the brand name Plan B, has been approved for sale directly from pharmacies, Health Canada confirmed earlier this week. Plan B will be kept behind the counter and available without a doctor's prescription. The pill is considered 95 percent effective at preventing unintended pregnancy if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, but has no effect on an established pregnancy. It prevents pregnancy by preventing embryos from attaching to the wall of the uterus. Health Canada's move follows British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Quebec, where women can already access the contraceptive without a prescription. Last month, researchers in B.C. found use of the emergency contraception had doubled in the province since the pill became over-the-counter. Under new federal rules, pharmacists will have to offer counseling about side effects such as nausea and vomiting, sexually transmitted diseases, and contraception to women requesting the drug. It is up to the provinces and territories to decide if they wish to move further and remove all restrictions on the drug, allowing women to access it without the help of the pharmacist

The Today Sponge contraceptive, pulled from the market a decade ago, will soon be back in U.S. stores after receiving FDA approval. Friday, the Food and Drug Administration approved U.S. sales of the sponge, which was a popular nonprescription birth control product among women when it was withdrawn from the market in 1995. Now the polyurethane sponges, which manufacturer Allendale Pharmaceuticals has sold in Canada and over the Internet since March 2003, will be available soon in the U.S. through a company Web site. Shortly after that, the product will be available at retail drug chains, followed by supermarkets and mass marketers such as Wal-Mart, Allendale said. Allendale bought rights to sell the Today Sponge several years ago from the prior manufacturer, Wyeth Co. of Madison. Wyeth, then called American Home Products. They stopped making the sponge rather than upgrade its Hammonton manufacturing plant after FDA found deficiencies there, even though the device's effectiveness and safety were never questioned. The Today Sponge, a soft, concave device, prevents pregnancy by covering the cervix and releasing spermicide. Roughly 250 million sponges were sold from 1983 to 1995. While it was less effective than several other methods and does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, the sponge achieved a wide following among women who saw advantages from spontaneity to wide availability. In Canada, where the original Today Sponge was only on the market about 18 months, more than 400,000 sponges have been sold through retail outlets and Internet sites - without any advertising - since they were approved for sale there two years ago. An advertising campaign for the U.S. market is being developed. Sales are expected to jump from 10 million to 15 million sponges in the first 12 months. That's the current production limit of the company's factory in Norwich, N.Y., but the company has plans to double that