Intended for healthcare professionals

Minerva

Minerva

BMJ 2002; 324 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7343.986 (Published 20 April 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;324:986

Rather than eyeing up beauty, babies go for novelty. Contrary to expectation, young babies seem to fix on pictures of asymmetrical faces longer than perfectly symmetrical ones, whereas their mothers considered the symmetrical faces more attractive. Minerva wonders if it's simply a case of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps babies simply adopt different criteria for beauty than adults (Perception 2002;31:315-21).

Epididymal sperm aspiration from vasectomised men combined with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) produces higher rates of pregnancy than reanastomosis after vasectomy. But is this success influenced by the length of time since vasectomy? One analysis of 151 ICSI cycles in vasectomised men found that pregnancy and implantation rates are negatively correlated with the time interval since vasectomy, and these differences could not be explained by male or female ageing alone (Human Reproduction 2002;17:736-40).

Some older people deny having difficulties walking but have already modified their behaviour by using walking sticks. The authors of a two year longitudinal survey study found that those who used sticks at the start of the study were more likely to have developed new mobility problems at follow up …

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