Washington, October 31 : A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) physician says that sexual problems in women, though prevalent, are not always associated with distress.

Dr. Jan Shifren, of the MGH Obstetrics and Gynecology Service, found in a survey of women that while 40 per cent of the participants had sexual problems, only 12 per cent of them indicated that those issues were a source of significant personal distress.

Washington, Oct 31 : Dowry is one of the major causes of chronic poverty in Bangladesh, according to a new study from University of Bath.

The research found that those households with lower levels of education, that owned less land had fewer assets and had many young children,

Moreover, elderly relatives faced the most difficulty in escaping poverty.

Dowry payments of more than 200 times the daily wage and costly medical expenses are major causes of this chronic poverty.

Though dowry is illegal in Bangladesh, but is still practised by most families living in rural areas.

Washington, Oct 31 : When it comes to the decision to grow, the bacteria "listen in" to find out what their neighbours are doing and then follow the crowd, a new study has found.

The research team found that the spores of soil-dwelling bacteria could sense the presence of so-called muropeptide fragments released from the cell walls of other growing bacteria.

Those muropeptides act as powerful germinants, stimulating the spores to exit the safety of their dormant state and start growing.

The researchers hope that the discovery could lead to a new kind of anti-microbial agent that works by keeping dormant bacteria—which typically resist traditional antibiotics—inactive.

Washington, October 31 : Two Kent State University sociology professors have likened U. S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s debating style to the technique boxing legend Muhammed Ali relied on during his matches.

Drs. Will Kalkhoff and Stanford W. Gregory Jr. say that Obama demonstrates a “rope-a-dope” debating style, which is similar to the way Ali would hang back during the beginning of a fight until his opponent exhausted himself, and then would dominate the end of the match, winning most of his contests with this style.

Washington, Oct 31 : The 1973 thriller, ''The Exorcist'', based on William Peter Blatty''s book, has been named as the ''best horror film ever made'' in a new Halloween poll.

William Friedkin''s flick topped the online poll, which asked more than 6,000 HMV customers - all thanks to its unique blend of supernatural horror, religious iconography and a taboo-breaking script.

Stanley Kubrick''s 1980 adaptation of the Stephen King novel, the Shining, secured the second spot while ''Alien'' was voted third.

James Wan''s ''Saw'', from 2004, nabbed the fifth place and the highest-placing film from the 21st century.

Washington, Oct 31 : Refuting earlier claims, researchers from German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care have found that birth control pills does not deserve its reputation for causing weight gain.

Hormonal methods of contraception and intrauterine devices (IUDs) are the most effective long-term ways to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

And weight gain and weight loss were reported to be one of the adverse effects of the Pill.

According to the Institute''s Director, Professor Peter Sawicki, it turns out that many researchers were too quick to jump to the conclusion that the Pill was responsible.