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Women are more likely to expect to orgasm when anticipating a sexual encounter with a female partner‚ according to new research. While this may be a hard pill for heterosexual men to swallow‚ it highlights one of the drivers behind the well-established orgasm gap but crucially‚ it also suggests ways in which that gap could start to be bridged.The depressing truth is that during heterosexual intercourse‚ women are less likely to climax than their male partners. Even more depressingly‚ scientists previously found that some women dont even expectto orgasm during sex.A new study built on previous findings to investigate how womens expectations of sex are shaped by their partners‚ and how this can impact their chances of reaching the Big O.First‚ the authors establish that while the outlook may be a little bleak for straight women‚ the lesbians amongst us are‚ by all accounts‚ having a lovely time. According to a large 2018 study‚ 86 percent of lesbian women usually or always orgasm during sex‚ compared to just 65 percent of heterosexual women. Bisexual women dont tend to fare much better overall‚ but theres some evidence to suggest they orgasm less frequently with male partners than with female partners.This is where the authors bring in the concept of the sexual script‚ explained as a typical pattern that a sexual encounter follows. They suggest that in male-female pairings‚ this script prioritizes the mans orgasm‚ not focusing enough on activities that are more likely to allow a woman to climax.They asked a sample of cisgender‚ lesbian‚ and heterosexual women about the frequency and duration of their sexual encounters‚ the types of sexual activity they engage in‚ and their expectations around orgasms. Lesbian women were more likely to engage in sex acts that included clitoral stimulation‚ and were also more likely to expect and to achieve orgasm than straight women.In the second part of the study‚ a group of almost 500 cisgender‚ bisexual women were told to imagine themselves in a fictional scenario in which a dinner date had gone well and things were starting to heat up. The women were randomly assigned to imagine either a male or female partner in the scenario‚ and then asked questions about their sexpectations.The women who were told to imagine that their date was female had higher expectations for clitoral stimulation and orgasm. Indirectly‚ this led to these women being more likely to actively pursue orgasm. In other words‚ the sexual script between two women shapes expectations and behaviors to be more conducive to eachachieving orgasm.But before any heterosexual male readers get too discouraged‚ theres an important thing to remember. The sexual script is not etched into a stone tablet. It can be changed.If women‚ or men partnered with women‚ want to increase their own or their partners'; orgasm‚ they should create an environment that encourages orgasm pursuit through diverse sex acts‚ particularly those involving clitoral stimulation‚ said lead author Kate Dickman in a statement.This study is just one piece of a larger conversation about gender disparities. Orgasm is just one aspect of sexual satisfaction‚ and this research should not be misinterpreted as suggesting that orgasm is the sole measure of a fulfilling sexual experience.An orgasm is absolutely not the only worthwhile outcome of sexual intercourse‚ but most people would agree that theyre a nice-to-have‚ at least once in a while. And‚ since women are largely having fewer of them‚ it behooves researchers to find out why that is.As co-author Grace Wetzel explains: This research contributes to understanding gender disparities and inequities. It also sheds light on why the orgasm gap exists specifically‚ how different expectations for sex with men and women can explain these differences.The study is published in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science.

When meteorites crash land in Antarctica‚ they stick out like a black blob against a pure white backdrop. This is the reason why over 60 percent of discovered meteorites have been found on the frozen continent. However‚ warming temperatures could soon spell the end of this golden era of meteorite-hunting in the South Pole.Antarctica is becoming warmer and warmer in the face of climate change‚ turning more of its once-solid ice surface into a softer slush. Meteorites and other rocky objects tend to sink faster on softer ice‚ narrowing the window of time when researchers can stumble across them.New research has looked into this problem and found that up to 5‚000 meteorites are currently lost each year due to thawing ice.It';s estimated that 300‚000 to 850‚000 meteorites are lying on the Antarctica ice sheets‚ waiting to be found. As climate change intensifies in Antarctica‚ an increasing number of them are likely to plummet into obscurity.Under current policies‚ set to cause warming of 2.6 to 2.7C (4.68 to 4.86F) above pre-industrial levels‚ around 30 percent of the meteorites in Antarctica could become inaccessible. If emissions increase further‚ that figure could be as high as 75 percent.Antarctic meteorite (HUT 18036) partially in the ice‚ in contrast to most samples that are collected while lying on the surface.Image credit: Katherine Joy‚ The University of Manchester‚ The Lost Meteorites of Antarctica projectThis potential drop in discoveries could have a notable impact on our understanding of the Solar System and beyond.Most meteorites originate from different moons‚ planets‚ and asteroids in our Solar System. When theyre deposited on Earth‚ they provide scientists with an invaluable sample of celestial material that would otherwise prove extremely difficult to get our hands on.Sometimes‚ they can even tell us something about the universe beyond our Solar System. Just last month‚ scientists detailed a meteorite found in Antarctica that contained a rare dust particle older than our Sun. The exceptionally high isotopic ratio of the meteorite suggests it was formed by an unusual hydrogen-burning supernova‚ providing an insight into ancient cosmic events beyond our Solar System.If we continue to lose meteorites‚ we risk losing heaps of hard evidence that can tell us about our position in the universe. Given this risk‚ Kevin Righter‚ a curator of Antarctic meteorites and planetary scientist at NASA Johnson Space Center‚ explains in an accompanying News &;amp; Views article that we should seriously think about ramping up efforts to collect meteorite samples before its too late.If meteorites are not collected quickly enough‚ they will be a lost resource for present and future planetary science‚ which would constitute a major setback to our fundamental understanding of not only Earths place in the inner Solar System‚ but of the origin and evolution of the inner Solar System planets and asteroids‚ potential impactors‚ and the origin of organics and other components that allow life to flourish on Earth‚ explains Righter.The study is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

There is no shortage of celestial events to gawp at this year‚ with the April 8 eclipse and the ";Devil';s Comet"; being the highlights.These are events that come around only a few times a lifetime‚ but there are plenty of yearly events to keep the calendar full. One such event is known as ";l&;amp;amacr;hain&;amp;amacr; noon"; roughly translated as ";cruel sun"; or sometimes ";zero shadow days";.Twice a year‚ in just a few places on Earth (all within the tropics) the Sun passes directly overhead. The result is that objects standing up vertically cast no shadow you can see‚ making the objects appear really weirdly rendered‚ like in a videogame where the shadows haven';t loaded.IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Hawai';i‚ being the only US state in the tropics‚ is the only US state to experience zero shadow days. These were named L&;amp;amacr;hain&;amp;amacr; noon in a competition run by Bishop Museum.During zero shadow days‚ when the Sun is at its peak in the sky and shadows of vertical objects are concealed‚ you will be standing on the closest place on Earth to the Sun‚ known as the subsolar point. This point makes its way across the tropics throughout the year‚ appearing above Hawai';i during May and July.All explainer articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text‚ images‚ and links may be edited‚ removed‚ or added to at a later date to keep information current.

In the latest addition to the ambitious Human Cell Atlas project‚ launched in 2016‚ scientists have created the first-ever spatial map of all the different cell types that make up a human ovary. Its already giving us a detailed look at how these organs function‚ and could help pave the way for the development of artificial ovaries in the future.Since the Human Cell Atlas project kicked off‚ weve seen some incredible results from the unprecedented inner complexity of the human brain‚ to the chance to watch how fingers and toes grow.This new atlas is giving scientists a detailed window on how the ovaries work‚ and how things can go wrong. This deeper understanding is an essential step on the road to hopefully creating artificial ovaries that could provide a solution to some types of infertility.Its often said that human females are born with all of the eggs they will ever have. This is true‚ but its also true that the majority of the egg-producing structures called follicles contained within an ovary never actually go on to produce an egg.Until now‚ the reasons behind this have been a bit of a mystery. Most follicles lie dormant in the ovarys outer layer‚ with only a small subset periodically migrating inside. An even smaller group of these produce the hormones necessary to prod immature eggs‚ called oocytes‚ down the path to maturity and eventual release into a fallopian tube.Being able to analyze ovarian tissue down to the level of a single cell has allowed a team at the University of Michigan to zero in on the egg-producing follicles‚ and look at the patterns of gene expression that allow them to succeed where so many others do not.Using a technique called spatial transcriptomics‚ the scientists leverage strands of RNA present in tissue samples to infer which genes are being expressed. For these experiments‚ the team used ovaries from five human donors‚ targeting the follicles and oocytes in a first-of-its-kind investigation.Now that we know which genes are expressed in the oocytes‚ we can test whether affecting these genes could result in creating a functional follicle. This can be used to create an artificial ovary that could eventually be transplanted back into the body‚ said co-corresponding author Ariella Shikanov in a statement.A version of this procedure already exists‚ but its far from perfect. Ovarian tissues that have been frozen to protect them from medical treatments like radiotherapy can be reimplanted later to temporarily restore egg production. But it doesnt work for very long‚ because most of the follicles dont survive the process. Creating true artificial ovaries could offer a vast improvement.And its not just about fertility functioning ovaries also provide the hormones estrogen and progesterone‚ without which people with a female reproductive system will rapidly enter menopause.Given the confluence of the well-documented male bias that has existed in medical research and education‚ the difficulties many report in accessing high-quality female healthcare‚ and the prevalence of infertility worldwide‚ the new insights into the reproductive system that this cell atlas will provide are welcome.Shikanov summarized‚ This new data allows us to start building our understanding of what makes a good egg what determines which follicle is going to grow‚ ovulate‚ be fertilized and become a baby.The study is published in Science Advances.