© Sergey Ponomarev, AP
Children in Ukraine take part in nuclear-safety training in 2006 near Chernobyl.
Children in Ukraine take part in nuclear-safety training in 2006 near Chernobyl.
"Unexpected" findings suggest bomb tests, plant accidents boosted male births.
Nuclear radiation from bomb tests and power plant accidents causes slightly more boys than girls to be born, a new study suggests. While effects were seen to be regional for incidents on the ground, like Chernobyl, atmospheric blasts were found to affect birth rates on a global scale.
The result: Millions fewer females have been born worldwide than would otherwise be expected, researchers estimate. And given Japan's current nuclear troubles, another boy boomlet could be on the way, experts say.
For the new study, scientists analyzed population data from 1975 to 2007 for 39 European countries and the United States.
They found an increase in the number of male births relative to female births in all of the countries investigated from 1964 to 1975 - and in many eastern European countries for several years after 1986.
Comment: "On Thursday, a second major credit rating agency warned Congress and the White House that if they don't agree on a way to raise the nation's borrowing limit, the U.S. government could lose its top debt rating."
We're not economists, but how does raising the debt ceiling ("top debt rating") fix the credit rating of a country? At this point more debt equals more interest, equals less money (equals lower dollar value, equals hyper inflation, equals..).