Daily Rounds: Dems Target Men's Health; Fruit Flies Self-Medicate; White Rice Ups Diabetes

In protest, Democrats zero in on men's health - NPR - "For perhaps the first time in recent history, male reproductive health is at the forefront of political debate. In at least six states, lawmakers — all women and all Democrats — have proposed bills or amendments in the last few weeks that aim to regulate a man's access to reproductive health care. It's their way of responding to the ongoing debate around contraception and abortion, said Jennifer Lawless, director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University."

Learning from the spurned and tipsy fruit fly - The New York Times - "Fruit flies apparently self-medicate just like many humans do, drowning their sorrows or frustrations for some of the same reasons, scientists reported Thursday. Male flies subjected to what amounted to a long tease — in a glass tube, not a dance club — preferred food spiked with alcohol far more than male flies that were able to mate."

Also: White rice joins white bread as a diabetes risk, and the Boston blackout puts a drain on a major health conference:

Diabetes risk: White rice joins white bread - Medpage Today - "Eating more white rice may up the risk of type 2 diabetes, especially for Asian populations, researchers said. Patients who ate the greatest amounts of the grain had a 27% greater risk of developing the disease than those who ate the least, and the relative risk was higher among Asian patients, Qi Sun, PhD, of Harvard, and colleagues, reported in BMJ."

Blackout puts drain on health conference - The Boston Herald - "Back Bay blackout forced a major gathering of physical education professionals to abandon the Hynes Convention Center and try to salvage their meeting at the Sheraton hotel — an emergency move that could cost Boston millions in visitor spending. The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, which expected to draw 6,000 members to its 127th convention, scrapped its three-day exhibition at the Hynes as the power outage dragged on."