From Science News . . .

This year was full of scientific findings about us, with a host of discoveries that helped explain how our brains and bodies work. Among the more interesting were these nine, which focused on some of the things that are on our minds the most and which might leave some folks red in the face.

There’s nothing like the sight of a statue of a naked lady to turn many of us into giggling teenagers. One statue discovered this year takes the cake for its blush-factor: The tiny figure, which dates back some 35,000 years, was that of a woman with “large, projecting , a greatly enlarged and explicit vulva, and bloated belly and thighs,” University of Cambridge anthropologist Paul Mellars wrote in a commentary essay on the discovery in the journal Nature. The archaeologists say the nude art, found in Germany, suggests people were obsessed with sex and nakedness long ago. Early carvings of phalluses appeared in Europe at about the same time.

Guys certainly have willpower. Turns out, in general they are good at staving off an erection when watching . That’s according to a study out this year that found guys who can regulate other emotions, such as holding in a laugh when listening to a comedian, are even better at controlling their mental and physical arousal.

Sex is supposed to be fun, right? Not for the 15 percent or so of women who experience dyspareunia, or recurrent genital pain during sex. Researchers found this year such women have more easily triggered pain networks compared with other women. Rather than a sex dysfunction, dyspareunia should be classified as a pain disorder, they say, and as such treatment should include cognitive behavioral and sex therapies.

Masturbation might not be a dinner-table topic, but new research out in 2009 suggests the mostly solo act is serious business. The study found that men who masturbated frequently in their 20s were more likely than men who didn’t to get prostate cancer later in life. The link could be a hormonal one, rather than strict cause-and-effect, since hormones have been linked with prostate cancer as well as sex drive. But further study is needed, as other research has shown different results.

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