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The root of a South African tree traditionally used to boost male potency could form the basis of a new drug.

Scientists believe they have found the active ingredient of the violet tree, and have applied for patents.

For centuries, the root of the tree has been chewed by South Africans suffering from erectile dysfunction.

Some of the profits from any drug could find their way back to the traditional healers who "prescribe" it.

The violet tree is found not only in northern South Africa, but also in other African countries.

Dr Marion Meyer, head of the botany department at the University of Pretoria, told a South African news agency that chemicals extracted from the root had been tested in the laboratory.

When it was added to samples of "smooth muscle" - the type of tissue found in the penis, the muscle relaxed to allow more blood to flow into it.

This suggests there is a possibility it could offer an alternative to exisiting drugs Viagra and Levitra, which also work by increasing blood flow into the penis.

Blockbuster drugs

Dr Meyer said that traditional healers would benefit should a drug based on the violet tree ever be registered.

"They are pleased to be getting recognition for something they have been using for centuries."

Viagra has proved to be one of the most successful drugs in recent pharmaceutical history, earning millions for maker Pfizer.

However, the violet tree will not be competing with it for a while, as it will be at least three years before human trials of the extract can start, and another two years before a drug could be launched.

BBC News

Chlamydia has been the dubbed the ‘silent infection’ and is quietly on the rise in the UK.

This nasty sexually transmitted infection, which could potentially leave you infertile, is infecting more and more sexually active people at an alarming rate.

A nationwide screening programme for Britain’s most common sexually transmitted infection was demanded at the start of Sexual Health Week.

The FPA (formerly known as the Family Planning Association) is campaigning for an immediate nationwide roll out of a Government screening programme for Chlamydia – to stop the rise of the infection.

The FPA said testing women under the age of 25 for Chlamydia, was ‘a must’ if the number of people being diagnosed with the condition was to be cut.

The FPAs Sexual Health Week, which ran from August 4 – 10, highlighted the rise of the disease and also showed that there is currently a scary low level use of condoms and little awareness of sexually transmitted infections amongst men and women.

Rates of Chlamydia are highest in 16-24 year old men and women – yet when questioned – the survey ran by the FPA said that just over 60% of this group in a sexual relationship admitted they had never, or only sometimes, used a condom in the previous year. This is despite the fact that over a quarter of them had two or three sexual partners during this time.

Chlamydia was the most commonly diagnosed STI in 2002. It has been called the ‘silent infection’ because is shows no symptoms in 70% of women and 50% of men who contract the infection. If it is left untreated it can cause infertility!

Condom Culture

The best and most effective way to protect yourself from contracting Chlamydia is to use a condom. Not only will it prevent an unwanted pregnancy, but also it is the safest way to have sex and stay uninfected!

Econdoms have a huge selection of condoms to keep away those nasty infections! Choose some that suit you and stay safe!!

Researchers have found nearly three-quarters of Britons have had a fling with someone in the office.

Across the nation 71% of UK adults claim to have had a love affair with a colleague.

Of the 10,052 people who took part in the AOL survey, 28% were still with their office romances, and 66% would consider starting an affair with a colleague if they liked them enough.

However, office relationships do not always lead to happiness, and one in two work affairs ends in one or both parties having to leave the company, the survey found.

Of those polled, one in ten said they had slept with the boss to gain promotion, with one in three admitting they would consider sleeping their way to the top.

Josa Young, head of AOL's Careers and Work Channel, said: "The workplace has become one of the most popular environments in which you can expect to meet your life partner.

"Now that men and women work outside the home in almost equal numbers, this is inevitable. Smouldering looks across an office, flirty emails and cosy lunches have become the new courting tools.

Ananova.com

Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz have got the right idea by dating toyboys, according to British women.

Almost two-thirds of those who had flings with younger men say they are better in bed, according to a poll.

Two-fifths of those who took part in the survey for New Woman magazine said they had enjoyed a relationship with a toyboy.

Just over three-quarters of those who had dated younger men said they were at least five years their junior, while for a fifth the age gap was at least a decade.

Diaz, 30, is currently seeing Justin Timberlake, 22 and Moore, 40, is dating actor Ashton Kutcher who at 25 is 15 years younger than her.

The survey found being with younger men makes women more body conscious - with 70% admitting to having extra concerns about their looks.

A majority of the women said there were not enough men of their own age to date.

"Women are living increasingly busy lives and it can be difficult to find the perfect man," said New Woman editor Sarah Cremer.

"We are also looking for more fun and energy out of our relationships. Gone are the days where we look for men to take care of us.

Ananova.com

A sex shop has been voted the easiest place for disabled people to shop. Members of access group Disability Direct said staff at Ann Summers on St Peter's Street in Derby were particularly helpful and friendly.

The chain store, which sells saucy lingerie and marital aids, has also fitted internal ramps and has accessible changing rooms.

The store was also praised for its open plan layout and thoughtful items such as low hooks for people to hang garments on in the changing rooms.

Lower hooks

Store manager, Carol Dobson said: "We're really pleased it's a massive achievement for us.

"We didn't think that we'd stand a chance against the bigger stores.

"It was not built with disabled people in mind but when we opened and realised the large number of disabled customers, we decided to make the premises more wheelchair friendly."

The decision was made by a panel of three judges, a member from the Derby access group, a city council access officer and Amarjit Raji, the chief executive of Disability Direct the group which organises the award.

Mr Raji said: "It was the simplicity of it, a ramped entrance, the fact it was open plan, the little thoughts that make a difference.

"Compared to one of the worst examples where we saw a disabled toilet which was also used as a broom cupboard, it was the attention to detail that made it stand out.

"Some companies have even said they have lowered counters when they haven't.

"It's a small shop but they have got it absolutely right.

"By October 2004 all stores have to be accessible for all so they will need to make reasonable adjustments to improve the shopping experience of disabled people."

BBC News

Asia is facing a huge shortage of condoms, heightening fears over the spread of the HIV/Aids epidemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Unless extensive prevention efforts are undertaken immediately, the region - which currently has seven million HIV/Aids sufferers - is set to become the epicentre of the pandemic in the next decade, the WHO said on Monday.

Asia is currently short of "billions" of condoms, the organisation warned, adding that at least 30m people could be infected in India and China by 2010.

WHO media officer Mangai Balasegaram said it was vitally important to promote the use of condoms across the region.

"Millions of lives could be saved by doing something which is very simple," she told BBC News Online.

According to WHO estimates, 24bn condoms are needed throughout the world every year - although only six to nine billion are actually distributed.

The WHO warning came ahead of a four-day regional meeting in the Lao capital Vientiane on the "100% condom use programme", a strategy to promote the use of condoms in the sex industry.

A substantial proportion of HIV infections in Asia are attributable to commercial sex, according to the UN agency.

China's sex industry alone needs 1bn condoms a year, the WHO said - citing research which shows that, at present, fewer than 20% of Chinese sex workers use condoms regularly.

Knowledge of HIV/Aids is also poor in China.

A 2002 survey by the China Aids Association found that, even in urban areas, more than half of those surveyed did not know how the disease was transmitted, or how they could protect themselves.

The WHO's "100% condom use programme" has already had a noticeable effect in Thailand, preventing a few million HIV infections, according to the organisation.

There have also been successes in Cambodia.

A record 20m condoms are said to have been sold in the country last year, and condom sales have risen by 200% in the last decade.

The 100% condom use programme is now also being piloted in sex establishments in China, Burma, Mongolia and Vietnam.

Similar projects have also been initiated in Laos and the Philippines.

"The fact that these governments are prepared to participate in the programme is a major step forward," said Mangai Balasegaram.

BBC News

A baby boy conceived with sperm bought over the internet has been born to a British couple. The parents, who do not want to be identified, live in south-east England.

The couple paid for sperm from a male donor through the website ManNotIncluded.com.

John Gonzalez, founder of the site which launched in the UK last year, claimed it was the first birth of its kind in this country.

'Over the moon'

The couple are understood to have turned to the website after repeated failed attempts at IVF and artificial insemination.

"They are over the moon. They had totally given up hope of having a child and now they are just so happy," Mr Gonzalez said.

He said both mother and baby, who weighed 10lb 2oz, were doing well and had returned home.

Mr Gonzalez said the first birth validated the work of the site, which has been widely criticised by family and medical ethics groups.

"We are delighted at the fantastic news that the first baby has been born as a direct result of using our ground-breaking service.

"MNI is about giving all women the chance to have children without fear of prejudice or discrimination.

"Here's to the birth of countless more MNI babies over the coming weeks and months," Mr Gonzalez said.

Another 19 customers are currently pregnant. A lesbian couple are expecting a child within a few weeks.

The MNI web site launched a year ago and has more than 5,500 anonymous male donors.

Couples pay a basic registration fee of £750 plus £80 for three site searches, which allows them to access the database of sperm donors.

Three donors are selected before prospective parents speak to a counsellor who provides information on personality traits as well as physical details. From this shortlist, the ideal donor is selected.

The woman's ovulation is monitored and when she is at her most fertile, fresh sperm is sent to the hopeful parent or parents.

It is then left up the prospective mother and partner to carry out the insemination themselves.

For each donation, a man receives between £50 and £100.

Critics say the site is unsafe and takes advantage of desperate wannabe parents.

Mr Gonzalez said they were now expanding their operation to Spain, Germany and the Netherlands and had received interest from across Europe.

Under fire

But the pro-life Medical Ethics Alliance called for the website to be closed down.

"This website is a gross abuse and commercialisation of fertility care, which has consequences far beyond the practice of simply buying sperm," said a spokesman.

"This should be brought under regulation and we think the practice of procuring a child over a website should be banned without delay."

Patrick Cusworth of pro-life charity Life said: "This is a grubby little process that demeans all concerned."

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which regulates IVF clinics in the UK, declined to comment on the case.

But Suzi Leather, its chairwoman, advised women against using the internet to obtain sperm.

"Women wishing to use donated sperm are advised to do so through an HFEA licensed clinic where donated sperm is thoroughly tested and legal parentage is set down in law."

BBC News

Widespread ignorance of sexually transmitted diseases is contributing to a growing crisis in sexual health, according to a report.

The Family Planning Association (FPA) found that despite repeating public health campaigns, many people were still failing to use condoms.

It is calling for the government to introduce a national screening programme for chlamydia - the most commonly diagnosed STD in 2002 - as soon as possible.

Rates of chlamydia are highest in 16-24 year old men and women, yet when questioned, just over 60% of this group in a sexual relationship admitted they had never, or only sometimes, used a condom in the previous year.

This is despite the fact that over a quarter of them had two or three sexual partners during this time.

Fertility threat

Chlamydia is sometimes called the 'silent infection' as it shows no symptoms in 70% of women and 50% of men, but if left untreated can cause infertility.

Over 81,000 cases were diagnosed in 2002 at genitourinary medicine clinics - an increase of 139% since 1996.

In 1999 pilot studies for the screening programme in Portsmouth and the Wirral found one in 10 young women under 25 tested positive for chlamydia.

The FPA survey found 59% of people in a relationship said they had talked to their partner about past sexual history before having sex.

But 58% also said they had not used a condom in the previous year.

Anne Weyman, FPA chief executive said: "Opportunistic screening for chlamydia in women under 25 years is a must.

"Yet the screening programme has been delayed due to a lack of significant and sustained investment. "This is a crazy, false economy on the part of the government considering that dealing with the consequences of untreated chlamydia, such as ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease and fertility problems costs the NHS an estimated £50m a year."

Nurses' welcome

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) backed the call for a national chlamydia screening programme.

Beverly Malone, RCN general secretary, said extra funding was also required to boost sexual health services.

"Patients require access to care at the earliest possible opportunity yet the current system means they suffer delays due to an overburdened service.

"Chlamydia like many other sexual infections is a condition that can be easily treated but has dire consequence if not. Under-funding of sexual health services is putting patients at risk."

Nuala Scarisbrick, of the pro-life group Life, said making condoms more available and sex education more explicit would not solve the problem.

"It is remarkable these so-called `family planning experts' never suggest young people should not be having sex in the first place.

"Youngsters are being let down badly. By failing to protect and nurture them, we are exposing them to sexual knowledge that they should be unaware of until they are much older, and exposing them to diseases which could ruin the rest of their lives."

The Department of Health said the size of the pilot chlamydia screening programme was to be doubled later this year.

In addition, screening was already on offer in various places around the country.

A spokesman said: "Reducing transmission of STIs is a complex issue that will involve people in changing their behaviour.

"There is no quick fix but the NHS is working to reverse the upward trends in infections, tackling inequalities and modernising services."

BBC News

The sex hormone oestrogen plays a crucial role in a wide variety of human emotional responses, say experts.

It not only has a part in generating feelings of sexual desire, claim scientists, but is also at the root of other types of arousal - producing alertness or even fear.

Experiments on mice suggest that without oestrogen, the animals still have these responses, but they are less finely tuned.

The researchers, from Rockefeller University in New York, say a primitive "general arousal" system which needs the sex hormone to operate may be key to normal human responses.

The research team took normal mice, and compared the way they react to fear or sexual stimuli with mice engineered to lack important genes.

These genes produce receptors on the surface of cells which allow oestrogen to bind and influence the way the cell works.

Mice lacking a particular type of oestrogen receptor were significantly less responsive to the same stimuli - highlighting the need for oestrogen in this process.

Primative system

Combining this finding with data from other similar experiments appeared to reveal the presence of a "general arousal" mechanism - perhaps a priming mechanism that made the body more sensitive to stimuli.

The system would be important in how the body responds to hunger and thirst and pain, as well as fear and sexual desire.

The researchers say that understanding arousal is one of the most important areas of research.

"Besides the status of arousal as a 'holy grail' in neurobiology, its deficits can contribute to disorders of cognition, and its erosion can account for some of the mental difficulties during ageing."

They suggested that harnessing a "general arousal" mechanism could "enhance vigilance", and help develop anaesthetic techniques.

Sensitive

British researcher Dr Keith Kendrick from the Babraham Institute in Cambridge said that oestrogen had a number of important functions aside from controlling libido.

"Sex steroids play an important role in memory," he said, "They appear to optimise the way that neural connections respond to stimuli.

"If you don't have these, the systems work, but not very well."

The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

BBC News

When it comes to sex men are better on theory than they are in practice. A survey has confirmed the long-held belief that men spend much of their time day-dreaming about sex.

But the fast pace of modern life leaves them too tired for the real thing.

In fact, given the chance of an extra hour in bed, most working men say they would rather spend it asleep than having sex.

The survey, for vitamins company Berocca, found that more than six out of ten men say that work is the most demanding part of their life.

And it seems to take a heavy toll. More than half said they were simply too tired for a social life, or to have sex when they got home after a busy day.

Thinking of sex

However, most men were not too tired or stressed at work to fantasise about sex - even at inappropriate times.

One in five men admitted they thought about sex within a minute of the start of a business meeting.

Christine Northam, a counsellor for the charity Relate, said the survey was a good sign that people were starting to consider the impact of long working hours on emotional health.

"Lots of people are suffering from stress as the result of working long hours, and the lack of security in employment.

"When people are completely shattered and stressed they don't feel very sexy.

"But sex is a very important part of a loving, intimate relationship.

"If we value stable relationships as a foundation of society, then society needs to change. We need to get away from the culture of working too long and hard, being too materialistic and driven by money."

The survey also found that more than three-quarters of men cannot stay alert throughout the working day - in fact the average man said he was only sharp for around three hours.

This may be in part due to a poor diet. Seven out of ten of the 650 men who took part in the survey admitted they did not eat properly.

BBC News