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"Nearly 20% of women in the US are raped or suffer attempted rape at some point in their lives, a US study says. Even more women, estimated at 25%, have been attacked by a partner or husband, the Centers for Disease Control said."

Bill Nye and the Discovery Channel give you the greatest discoveries in science. Host Bill Nye explores the most significant medical discoveries about the human body, from 1538 until the 1980s. From the first systematic examination of the human body through dissection in the 16th century to the 20th-century discoveries of how vitamins, insulin, and the antibiotics can help overcome deadly disorders and diseases; and modern-day discoveries about genetics and cancer and the causes of AIDS.

"Historically, scientists have focused on breeding useful traits such as disease resistance from African rice into Asian rice. Now the focus is on the reverse -- using African rice as the basic crop and improving it with Asian genes. "African rice was initially ignored by mainstream research," said Koichi Futakuchi, a scientist at Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) in a statement."

"The problem is that a proposed ban might include thiomersal, a mercury compound used to prevent contamination and extend the shelf life of vaccines, many scientists say. It is used in about 300 million shots worldwide, against diseases including flu, tetanus, hepatitis B, diphtheria and meningitis. "Not being able to use mercury is not a viable option," said David Wood, a WHO vaccines expert."

"Obesity has a greater impact on the blood pressure of teenage girls than on teenage boys, a US study has suggested. High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke in later life. The study of 1,700 teenagers, presented to the American Physiological Society conference, found girls had three times the risk of higher blood pressure."

"Todd Rider, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is developing an antiviral drug called Draco, which has proven successful against all 15 viruses to which it has been applied in lab trials with human tissue and mice. These include the common cold, H1N1 or swine flu, a polio virus, dengue fever and the notorious and fatal Ebola virus. To produce it, Mr Rider took an unusual approach, "wiring together" two natural proteins - one that detects virus entry, and another that acts as a suicide switch that kills the infected cell."

"In the few, limited tests conducted outside the United States, BPS shows estrogenic activity - not as strong as BPA, but not a good sign. BPS is now used in the United States to make PES (polyethersulfone) plastic. Some baby bottles marketed as BPA-free use PES plastic. Bisphenols are shaping up to be a dysfunctional family of chemicals. BPAF is BPA's fluorinated twin. It is used in electronic devices, optical fibers and more. New studies have found BPAF to be an even more potent endocrine disrupter than BPA. Bisphenol B and Bisphenol F are other variants used instead of BPA in various products. In the limited testing done on those chemicals in other countries, scientists found Bisphenol B to be more potent than BPA in stimulating breast cancer cells. "