A glance at the week that was
We now know
Daily sex improves sperm qualityand could boost the chances of procreation. In a study of men with fertility problems, findings revealed that daily ejaculation for a week cut the amount of DNA damage in sperm samples.
Vegetarians are less likely to get cancersof the blood, bladder and stomach, though may be slightly more at risk of bowel cancer than their meat-eating counterparts.
The numbers
€25,000The newly proposed fine for blasphemy, down from €100,000 thanks to changes to be made to the Defamation Act
11.9%The estimated rate of unemployment in June
150The number of years' imprisonment to which disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was sentenced
We dare to dream
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – at least so they say at Met Éireann. Turns out some parts of the country had the sunniest June since 1970, though others were less fortunate: Dublin had the coldest June 6thfor more than a century, Co Roscommon had a tornado, and Derrybeg, Co Donegal, got a freak thunderstorm that dumped 50mm of rain within three hours on June 23rd.
For the rest of us, things were balmy enough – on average one and two degrees above normal – to suggest the possibility of an actual summer this year. We dare to dream . . .
Alien invaders
Rising temperatures may be good for morale, but they're also set to create ecological havoc, at least in Britain where a warm summer would provide just the right conditions for the Asian harlequin ladybirdto breed, scientists are warning. The result next spring will be millions of very hungry ladybirds ready to prey on Britain's native species. As if that wasn't bad enough news for the local fauna, a colony of Argentine antsis busy taking over the world. The ants, which hail from South America but now live all over Europe as well, all belong to one single colony, and are known to attack native animals and crops.