Horny Goat Weed may offer Viagra alternative

LONDON–A Chinese herbal remedy called “horny goat weed” is a promising alternative to Viagra for impotent men, Italian researchers said on Monday.

The herb has long held a reputation as a natural aphrodisiac. The lab experiments, which did not look at whether the plant actually increases desire, could lead to new drugs to help men get erections, said Mario Dell’Agli, a researcher at the University of Milan, who led the study.

Erectile dysfunction is a common condition worldwide, and drugs like Pfizer Inc’s. But the medicines, which inhibit an enzyme called phosphodiesterase type 5 that restricts blood flow around the body, including to the penis, can have side effects ranging from headaches, upset stomach and visual problems including blindness.

The Italian team looked for alternatives by studying a number of plants reputed to boost sexual performance.

Woman wakes up, should have smelled the coffee

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa–It wasn’t just the caffeine that gave an Iowa woman an extra jolt after she had her morning coffee. It was also the bat she found in the filter.

The Iowa Department of Public Health says the woman reported a bat in her house but wasn’t too worried about it. She turned on her automatic coffee maker before bedtime and drank her coffee the next morning.

She discovered the bat in the filter when she went to clean it that night. The woman has undergone treatment for possible rabies.

Health officials say that the bat was sent to a lab but that its brain was too cooked by the hot water to determine whether it had rabies.

Man drowns in election publicity stunt

BANGKOK–A publicity stunt by an underdog in the race to be governor of Bangkok went badly wrong when her campaign manager drowned as they bathed in a canal to highlight the plight of residents who have no access to clean water.

Candidate Leena Jangjanya said 32-year-old Thirasak Sitanont drowned last Thursday, Sept. 25 as she and other staff were showing journalists the rashes they got from washing in the filthy water.

“One of my staff saw him waving and crying for help, but we thought he was pretending and he was far away from us, posing for two TV crews,” a sobbing Leena told Reuters.