HOW much pain would you put up with to help your friend? Less than you would for your close relatives, but more than you would for a charity, according to a study that looked at the basis of altruistic behaviour. For women, however, best friends rank higher than cousins, while men put all family members ahead of friends.

One possibility, says co-author Robin Dunbar of the University of Liverpool, UK, "is that females are just more social".

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg19426025.200

That's stereotyping! It's EVIL!