Monkeys pay females for sex: Scientists

Male macaque monkeys 'pay' for sex with females by grooming them, a new research has found. The availability of females even affects the 'price'.
Where there are fewer females, males must groom their partners for up to twice as long before they are able to have sex, the research found.
The male use grooming as a form of currency to buy sex from the female, the study conducted by Michael Gumert of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, found.
Sexual activity among a 50-strong group of long-tailed macaques in Kalimantan Tengah, Indonesia, increased after bouts of male-to-female groom, according to findings published in Animal Behaviour Journal and reported in New Scientist.
On average, females had sex 1.5 times an hour. This increased to 3.5 times an hour immediately after the female was groomed by the male.
Gumert said unlike examples of 'reciprocal altruism' — in which one organism provides a service to another in return for getting something back at a later date — the value of sex fluctuated.
When there were several females in the area, the male monkeys would have to do only eight minutes of grooming before being able to mate. If there were fewer females than males around, a male would have to groom its partner for up to 16 minutes before sex, the research found.
The macques' behaviour is an example of a 'biological market', a theory developed by Ronald Noe of Strasbourg University, France and Peter Hammerstein of Humboldt University, Berlin.
"There is a very well-known mix of economic and mating markets in the human species. There are many examples of rich old men getting young attractive ladies," Prof Noe said.

Tech 2008: A platter full of hi-tech gadgets

It is party time for all the tech buffs as there are a heap of things that one can look forward to this New Year.
We live in a scientific age, an age that leads to a future of advanced technology. However, as the year ends, let us speculate on some of the many new technologies the future holds, especially, the year 2008.
Necessity is the mother of invention. And for 2008, Tata's Rs one lakh car might be the innovation in transport. Despite the simplistic design and minimal features, Tata's brainchild zooms ahead with its competitive pricing and economic engine, even as 40 more models get set to enter the market.
Besides a small car revolution, one might just be able to pay for ones car with a wireless telephone, which will be called a mobile phone in the future.
The year 2008 will see the convergence of another technology. Gone are the days when your credit card could be stolen or skimmed. Your cell phone can now make your credit transactions safe and risk free.
As on the cell phone front, Apple’s iphone and the google phone get set to land on Indian shores, the cell phone wars will escalate to announce one clear winner for 2008, which is the customer.
While online social networks plan to interlink, allowing you to jump from one community to another, individuals and large companies spend an increasing part of their days on virtual worlds, like second life.
As the common man looks to a virtual world, the country's scientists look to the skies, as they prepare to launch the moon rover Chandrayaan - 1, the first Indian spacecraft to land on the moon.
Little wonder then that the technology of the future, is history in the making.