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People largely date and marry people in their own "league,"as far as beauty is concerned, a new review finds.

Men and women are fairly accurate at rating their own physical attractiveness, and they tend to choose mates who have similar views of their own beauty, researchers report.

For example, fellows who rated themselves as attractive tended to date ladies with similar self-rating...

Many sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in the United States, and a nationwide poll indicates that ignorance about how they're transmitted could be fueling their spread.

About a third of Americans (34%) falsely believe sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can only be tra...

Only about half of people with a sexually transmitted disease would tell a new partner about their infection before having sex, a new review finds.

Fear prevents many people from revealing their STD to a new sex partner, according to the combined results of 32 previous studies.

Teenagers who are part of close-knit neighborhoods and families are less likely to have sex at a young age, a new study has found.

On the other hand, teens' schools have less influence on their sexual behavior, researchers report.

"Our results echo other studies' findings on the importance of families and neighborhoods in protecting youth from risky behaviors, and show that feeling ...

In new guidelines released Tuesday, U.S. health officials now recommend that certain people take the antibiotic doxycycline as a morning-after pill to lower the risk of some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

The latest recommendations only apply to gay and bisexual men and transgender women who have had an STD in the past year and are at high risk of getting infected again. While pas...

For decades, the responsibility for birth control has fallen largely on women, but new research suggests a birth control pill for men might one day become a reality.

How does it work? It targets a protein required for fertility, scientists report.

The protein, called serine/threonine kinase 33 (STK33), is enriched in the testicles and is specifically required to create functional sp...

Put down that donut and lay off the pasta: New research finds you're less sexy after gorging on refined carbs.

French researchers presented heterosexual adults with photos of an opposite-sex person who two hours earlier had eaten a breakfast rich in refined carbohydrates.

Participants rated the folks in the photos as less attractive compared to people who'd eaten a healthier breakf...

Is 'practice makes perfect' true for the male erection, too?

That's the suggestion from a Swedish study involving amorous male mice. It found that getting erections regularly was important to the rodents' overall erectile function.

The key seemed to lie in connective tissue cells called fibroblasts.

These cells have long been known to populate penile tissue, but their role has...

U.S. cases of syphilis have soared past numbers seen just a decade ago, new government statistics show.

The grim numbers are for 2022, the latest year for which an accurate tally is available.

More than 202,000 cases were recorded among Americans that year -- a 17% rise over 2021 numbers and an 80% rise over numbers ...

Even Valentine's Day apparently doesn't trump the start of a brand new year when it comes to getting frisky.

Sales of the morning-after pill surged across the U.S. after New Year 2022, new research shows. Nearly 41,000 extra pills were sold in the following week, a period linked to increased risks of unprotected sex.

Sales of emergency contraception also rose after other holidays su...

Being in a marriage or long-term relationship typically includes promises of monogamy, but new research shows a surprising number of folks, mostly men, are open to the idea of having another person in the mix.

Fully one-third of men in the United Kingdom are open to the idea of having more than one wife or long-term girlfriend, while only 11% of women would want someone else in their rela...

Mpox is making headlines again, as an outbreak of severe disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa has infected thousands of people and killed hundreds.

Amid this worrying scenario, researchers at New York University (NYU) offer a glimmer of good news: Smaller doses of the mpox vaccine Jynneos, given in a different way, still offer good protection against the infection.

...

In a disease cluster last year, one infected but asymptomatic man spread a rare form of syphilis that affects the eyes to five Michigan women, a new report finds.

Since ocular syphilis remains very rare, researchers believe the strain of T. pallidum -- the syphilis bacterium -- that the man carried might have raised the risk for eye complications in his sex partners.

The ma...

Data showing that the antibiotic doxycycline might prevent a sexually transmitted infection (STI) if taken soon after sex made headlines earlier this year.

As surging numbers of cases of syphilis and gonorrhea affect more Americans, here's what you need to know about using the drug.

"If you're actively having sex and not using con...

An old scourge, syphilis, is returning with a vengeance in the United States, affecting not only adults but also the most vulnerable -- newborns.

Rates of congenital syphilis soared 10-fold between 2012 and 2022, according to new data released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The congenital syphilis crisis in the United States has skyrocketed at a hea...

Suffering from PTSD may take a toll on your sex life if you're a woman, new research reveals.

About 10% of women have PTSD symptoms because of combat exposure, childhood abuse and sexual violence. Little research has been done looking at how these symptoms might affect sexual functioning among midlife women.

"As women age, there are many reasons why sexual functioning may become an ...

A stressful or traumatic childhood experience -- anything from parents divorcing to a sibling's drug problem -- may have long-term effects on a woman's sexual health.

These adverse childhood experiences may be linked to sexual inactivity and dysfunction in women later in life, a

A single hardwired brain circuit might be responsible for male sexual drive, a new mouse study reports.

Researchers have singled out in lab mice a brain region that controls sexual interest, libido, mating behavior and pleasure, said senior researcher Dr. Nirao Shah, a professor of psychiatry and neurobiology at Stanfo...

Let's talk about menopause and its impact on your sex life. We all know that this phase of life can bring about some changes, like a lower sex drive and vaginal dryness. But here's the thing: you don't have to suffer through it. In this article, we will break down how menopause affects your sexual experiences, share some medications and self-care tips that can make a real difference, and give y...

Some might think masturbation is all about self-pleasure, but scientists now claim it's far more significant than that.

Their new findings suggest it could serve an important role in evolution.

An ancient trait in primates, masturbation -- at least for the males of the species -- increases their reproductive success while also helping them avoid catching sexually transmitted infect...

Many men have likely never heard of Peyronie's disease, but they might want to brush up on this condition because it causes the penis to curve abnormally during an erection.

Peyronie's disease typically affects men over 30, and it appears to be caused by the build-up of plaque in the tunica albuginea. The tunica albuginea is the inner lining of the penis, and it helps the penis remain sti...

Even though roughly 1 in 5 Americans has been involved in an "open"relationship at some point in their lives, new research cautions that many end up bearing the brunt of stigmatizing and stressful disapproval.

The finding stems from a pair of fresh investigations: The first found that roughly 40% of men and women who participate in "consensually non-monogamous"relations report being ...

A high number of preteens and teens in the United States have viewed pornography and many have also sent or received nude or seminude photos -- sexting -- over their smartphones, a new study reveals.

"The prevalence rates we found in this study suggest that school counselors must be prepared to talk about sexting and pornography use with students, and to change the narrative about these...

More than 10,000 nerve fibers -- many more than expected -- power the human clitoris, according to Oregon researchers who were able to count them for the first time while performing gender-affirming genital surgery.

That's about 20% more than previous estimates, they said.

"It's startling to th...

A woman's body appears to go on high alert after she loses her virginity, a new study reports.

Specifically, her immune system ramps up activity in her vagina following her first sexual intercourse, researchers found.

However, researchers can't yet say whether these immune changes reduce or elevate a female's risk of acquiring a