FEMALE ‘SEX-DRIVE PILL’ SHOWS MARGINAL BENEFITS—AND TROUBLING SIDE-EFFECTS
ON POINT ‘VIRGIN SNAKE’ GIVES BIRTH—AGAIN ST. LOUIS, MO / A female snake in southeastern Missouri has given birth to a pair of offspring for the second time in two years. What’s so special about that, you ask? According to the Associated Press, the snake is a “virgin.” While the original story has more than likely been sensationalized a tad for the sake of a few extra clicks, the fact remains that this particular specimen, a yellow-bellied water snake, has indeed lived in captivity for nearly eight years without any male contact whatsoever. Scientists have discovered that fish, insects, birds, amphibians and reptiles are in fact capable, in some rare instances, of asexual reproduction through a process known as parthenogenesis, wherein cells known as “polar bodies” fuse with egg cells in a way not unlike that of sperm cells, which then triggers cell division. This process has not been found to occur in mammals. Though this year’s ‘virgin snake’ offspring did not survive, reports indicate that the previous pair born last summer is still on display at the nature centre located about 100 miles south of St. Louis. (Associated Press)
USA / A new pill from Sprout Pharmaceutical Inc., intended to up the sex drives of women with low libido, is soon set to go on sale to the public. But like any other ‘miracle drug’ that seems too good to be true, this one might be as well. According to a report from Anna Edney of Bloomberg News (and subsequently picked up by The National Post), the pill in question, Addyi (flibanserin), will be available for public consumption as of midOctober, provided that customers sign a form acknowledging its risks—which include “fainting and extreme sleepiness.” While Holly Thacker, director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Specialized Women’s Health, says that side effects are “not life threatening” and “not outside the norm of medications in a similar class,” clinical trials have shown Addyi to only slightly improve sexual desire in some test subjects—barely any more than those who had been given a placebo. Studies also found that risk of side effects increased in combination with alcohol and birth-control medicine. And the cost? According to the original report, Addyi will cost between $350 and $400 USD before insurance, and must be taken daily, meaning that doctors and insurance providers will need to be convinced to cover the drug to make it affordable to the majority of consumers. Adriane Fugh-Bergman is among those who has expressed criticism of Addyi, stating, “They have gotten a drug that is barely better than a placebo with serious side effects. “I think that we can expect all kinds of creative attacks of the [Food and Drug Administration] to pressure them to improve bad drugs since that tactic appeared to work.”
BUT LIKE ANY OTHER ‘MIRACLE DRUG’ THAT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THIS ONE MIGHT BE AS WELL
(Bloomberg News, National Post, Canadian Press)
NOVEMBER MARCH / APRIL / DECEMBER 2015 SEVEN 11