Who knows what it means?

I won't even venture a guess on what this could mean. But it is, as they say, interesting.

As polls closed on election night 2008, Duke University (my medical school) and the Univ of Michigan researchers tested testosterone levels of 183 men and women. Then a few hours later, as the election results became known, they tested again.

What they found was that men who voted for Obama maintained stable testosterone levels, while men who voted for McCain had a 25% drop in their testosterone level.

Women, who have a much lower level of testosterone and therefore less reliable measure of small changes, did not show this fluctuation.

Researchers say this study shows how stress affects our physiology and that the hormone change is in line with results of men playing video games -- supposedly winning or losing makes the difference. They also hastened to reassure McCain voters that the testosterone drop was temporary.

What they didn't report, which is what would interest me, is whether there was a beginning difference in testosterone levels of Obama voters and McCain voters -- given that testosterone is often associated with aggression.

Beyond that, I will not venture a guess what this means, if anything. Probably it has nothing to say about politics. Perhaps it's nothing more than the difference in winning and losing. The Duke researchers plan to do a similar study measuring the testosterone levels before and after a Duke-UNC game.

Ralph