Study: Fruit Flies Need Sex

Men, pay attention. A team of researchers from Stanford University have discovered that sexual frustration can literally kill. The study found when male fruit flies were stimulated but prevented from mating, their lifespans were cut up to 40 percent. Flies were turned on by a sexually-charged scent emitted from genetically modified males, but denied the presence of females, and so, any outlet for their sexual impulses. "We immediately observed that they looked quite sick very soon in the presence of these effeminised males," said Dr Scott Pletcher. The fruit fly is studied partly because the genes that regulate its average 60-day lifespan closely parallel those in humans. Good to know.