Fairfax, VA, USA. Contrary to previous reports, higher spending levels on medical services means better overall health for Medicare participants, a conclusion drawn from analyzing data from more than 17,000 Medicare beneficiaries.

Policymakers consider limiting Medicare payments in high-cost areas to curb perceived cost overruns because previous reports suggested that Medicare spending varies greatly by geographic area, but with little to show for it.

Waco, TX, USA. Male rappers see the "independent woman" as an educated, bill-paying person who will care for an average guy without making demands, while female rappers stress their sexual prowess and keep mum about their domestic skills, according to a Baylor University researcher's study.

But despite their very different takes on independent women, both men and women artists displayed a definite lack of the R-E-S-P-E-C-T that Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin craved in her 1967 mega-hit song.

Bristol, United Kingdom. Thirty percent of women would trade at least one year of their life to achieve their ideal body weight and shape.

Findings from a survey of university women in the United Kingdom highlight that body image issues are not limited to adolescent girls, but affect all women. Moreover, the majority of women surveyed said that more needs to be done to promote positive body image on their university campuses.

Vancouver, BC, Canada. Females rate happy guys as significantly less sexually attractive than swaggering or brooding males, according to a new study that helps to explain the enduring allure of the bad boy types and other iconic gender types.

The study finds dramatic gender differences in how men and women rank the sexual attractiveness of non-verbal expressions of commonly displayed emotions, including happiness, pride, and shame.

Coral Gables, FL, USA. Modern-day game theory techniques have been used to reexamine two legendary military bluffs and explain why they worked, with findings of interest to everyday situations that have the potential for interpersonal conflict.

The study shows that bluffing works because an opponent comes to believe you are strong, but can't tell whether your strength or true or only an act.