Earlier this year, researchers announced their hopes for an HIV-vaccine, only to encounter significant backlash when it was revealed that the vaccine was probably not as effective as initially published. The reduction in HIV infections found in the vaccine trial was only 26% - not enough to be statistically significant. Similarly, despite an early trial in March, which found that the use of PRO 2000 could reduce infections by 30%, the Medical Research Council announced today that the early findings were inconclusive, and further research reveals that the microbicide offers no protection.

Dr. Sheena McCormack from the MRC expressed her disappointment at the outcome. Researchers had hoped that the vaginal gel would give women the power to protect themselves against HIV without the cooperation of a partner: since many men refuse to wear condoms, the gel would have served as a good alternative. Trials in Africa indicated that both men and women found its use acceptable. But the latest trial of over 3,000 women in Uganda showed that 4.0% of the women on the placebo gel became infected, versus 4.1% of those given the microbicide gel. "It very clearly doesn't work," said McCormack. "Nevertheless, we know this is an important result and it shows clearly the need to undertake trials which are large enough to provide definitive evidence for whether or not a product works," she added.

Professor Gita Ramjee, who works at a clinic in South Africa and has conducted five separate trials of the gel, reports that at least the women involved in the trial received health care they otherwise wouldn't have. But she still felt "very despondent" at having to tell her staff that the microbicide doesn't work. "A lot of my staff are HIV positive and do a lot of counseling and they hear the pleas of women who say we desperately need something to prevent HIV infection because our partners don't want to wear condoms." Fortunately, there may be hope yet. Participants report that the gel was easy to use, and generally enjoyable for both partners. "It's time to give up on this type of chemical, but not on the idea," said McCormac.

Anti-HIV Gel Hopes Dashed By Trial Results [Guardian]
Vaginal HIV Gel Fails To Cut Risk [BBC]
Aids Research Suffers Setback As Big Trial Of 'Infection Blocking' Gel Fails [Times]
Anti-HIV Vaginal Gel Fails [New Scientist]

Variety reports:

In October, Sesame Workshop hosted a seminar in Abuja, the capital of the African nation, assembling an advisory board of local experts on child health, teacher education and early childhood education, to determine the focus and content for "Sesame Street Nigeria."

The majority of the country's children live in poverty with limited access to basic education. Less than 30% attend preschool, and only 60% attend school at all.

The TV series will focus on fostering basic skills such as counting, literacy and analytic thinking, striving to empower children to reach their full potential by staying in school.

"Introducing Kami and Big Bird to children in Nigeria lies at the core of Sesame Workshop's mission to foster respect and understanding through the power of media and beloved characters from 'Sesame Street' co-productions," says Naila Farouky, producer of "Sesame Street Nigeria." "It is our hope that the series will make a strong impact among Nigerian children and their families to prepare them for school and life, as well as help them understand HIV and AIDS and acquire a foundation to overcome prejudices and stigmas associated with the diseases."

"Sesame Street Nigeria" is an extension of "The Adventures of Kami and Big Bird" pilot outreach project that launched in Nigeria this year.

While there was a bit of controversy surrounding the use of Kami, an HIV positive five year old Muppet, backers behind the project are hopeful that Kami can save lives:

Nigeria possesses the third largest number of HIV-positive adults in the world; and over 1.8 million children are orphaned by AIDS. In a groundbreaking effort to provide resources about HIV and AIDS to Nigerian children and caregivers, Sesame Workshop has partnered with The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Presidents Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to bring a unique SESAME STREET project to Nigeria.

USAID and PEPFAR granted $500,000 to Sesame Workshop toward an educational outreach initiative that includes original videos and workbooks for children featuring SESAME STREET characters and caregiver guides; and is expected to reach 30,000 kids in Nigeria, many of whom are orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). The initiative, entitled "The Adventures of Kami and Big Bird," launched Wednesday in Abuja.

Nigerian born blogger Ebuka-Obi Uchendu celebrates the decision, making some interesting notes about both Sesame Street's forty year track record as well as Nigeria's history:

The very first episode of ‘Sesame Street' aired on November 10th, 1969. Not a lot of Nigerians would have been able to watch that since we were in the throes of the Nigerian Civil War at that time. Television was also not as universal as it is today, with cables, satellites and the internet. Then, to watch ‘Sesame Street' outside of America, you had to go negotiate with the producers, buy tapes and then air them in your local country. Yet, the show was (and still is) a huge success.

The original format was very simple; to educate children while also entertaining them. At the time, education was seeing as completely separate from entertainment. Why try to have fun while learning? Now, shows like ‘Barney and Friends' and ‘Teletubbies' all copy that format. [...]

The biggest plus for ‘Sesame Street' was the fact that it never allowed any racial or social discrimination. At a time when blacks in America were still trying to live out Martin Luther King's dream, actor Northern Calloway was already one of the most popular human characters on Sesame Street, playing David the fun black guy who always gave advice to the residents of Sesame Street whenever they needed one. He was also good at rhyming and poetry; playing David on the show until 1990 when he died. [...]

On Saturday, October 31, 1959, the very first signals from the Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) were transmitted from Ibadan; launching the very first television station in Africa. From the humble beginnings when faces and names like Julie Coker were very famous, television seemed to have a very bright future. Then some of the best home grown productions followed. Everyone watched ‘Cock Crow At Dawn', ‘Behind The Clouds'; ‘Samanja', ‘Icho Oku'; etc. people could relate to stories from these home grown productions and from comedy to drama, there seemed to be a story for everyone.
As the 90's started to close out, most home grown shows did the same. The last show I remember paying a little attention to was; ‘After The Storm', which ran on NTA sometime from 1997. Most other TV shows, even if a little popular, have failed to catch on wildly with the country. The ‘Super Story' series, has tried to keep things fresh and original but even that seems to have lost a little steam with viewers. The very popular ‘Tales By moonlight' which had the same appeal with children as ‘Sesame Street' failed to re-invent itself over the years, which led to dwindling viewership and eventual scrapping of the show. [...]

I was not born when either ‘Sesame Street' or Nigerian television were born but while both may have shaped my childhood in some way, it is only right to celebrate with the one who has shown consistency and the right attitude towards growth and success. No one likes to be associated with an inability to make progress. I sure do not. So, here are 40 hearty cheers to ‘Sesame Street'. Like their theme song goes, it's still "Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away…"

'Sesame Street' goes to Nigeria [Variety]

Earlier: How Young Is Too Young To Teach Kids About AIDS?
Politics, Palestine, & Sesame Street
Sesame Street in Nigeria to Reach 30,000 Children [Animation World Network]
Sesame Street at 40; Nigerian Television at 50 [The Future Nigeria]

• He went on to say that Knox is a "clean-faced young girl, swept away by a tsunami." • Two California girls, ages 12 and 14, have been arrested for attacking a 13-year-old classmate - twice. The girls lured the victim, who they believed had been talking shit about them, to a field, telling her that they had some belongings of hers to return. Police caught the attackers after they posted videos of the beatings on YouTube. • Accused Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell has been indicted on murder charges in the deaths of 11 women, plus dozens of other counts, including kidnapping, abuse of a corpse, attempted murder, assault and rape. Authorities say many of the 10 identified victims were homeless addicts he lured into his home. • NPR's Richard Gonzales, who grew up in Richmond, California, returned to see how the town is coping after a teenage girl was gang-raped at the high school. He spoke to sophomore Lizette Franco, who said, "We don't want it to be our identity, because there is so much more to Richmond than what they're portraying in the media. We're not animals. We're not savages. We're students striving to be better people." •  Former track star Marion Jones has announced plans to sign up with a W.N.B.A. team. Jones, who was busted for steroid use and has since toured the country speaking to students about making good choices, says she hopes the W.N.B.A. will provide a larger platform for her message, as well as a "second chance." •  Good news: According to the DCist, a bill instituting same-sex marriage has just passed in the D.C. council. Ben Smith from Politico notes that this is "a sign that same-sex marriage has really become a quite mainstream Democratic cause, one embraced equally by a Massachusetts court and an urban City Council." • The Senate is expected to vote today on an amendment that would increase health insurance benefits for women in the first vote on the health care overhaul legislation. The amendment was introduced by Senators Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine and inspired by the recent and controversial mammogram and Pap smear recommendations. "My amendment guarantees screening for breast cancer, yes, mammograms," Mikulski said. "We don't mandate that you have a mammogram at age 40. What we say is discuss this with your doctor, but if your doctor says you need one, my amendment says you are going to get one." • Zeituni Onyango, the half sister of President Obama's late father, gave an interview to the Associated Press in which she said she's anguished over not having contact with the family after it was revealed that she'd been illegally living in U.S. public housing for years. She isolated herself from the family after the inauguration because she didn't want her immigrations problems to hurt his presidency. "Before, we were family. But right now, there is a lot of politics, and me, I am not interested in any politics at all," she said. • South African President Jacob Zuma said today - on World AIDS Day - that the government will make sure that all HIV-positive babies receive treatment. There are also plans to expand testing and treatment for pregnant women. •  Sarah Palin's absurdist memoir Going Rogue has sold 1 million copies, a HarperCollins spokeswoman reveals. The publisher has increased the print run accordingly, to 2.8 million. • Asma Hanif, who runs a Baltimore domestic violence shelter for Muslim women says, "My biggest problem was that if you send a Muslim woman to be counseled in a shelter that's run by Christians, then what the people say is the reason why you're being beat is because of that religion. We do not want Islam to be the focal point of domestic violence." She added that in other shelters, "There may be situations - such as, there would be men that were there, or there wasn't any place for them to pray, or maybe there was an issue with the food." • An online poll of 1,027 people by the Tylenol Canadian Pain Survey found that women report experiencing headaches more often than men, and they experience somewhat more pain than men. "Pain doesn't discriminate against gender; however, with headache pain, women tend to be more expressive in reporting their pain than men, and tend to be more proactive in managing it," said Dr. Gary Shapero, a family physician who has studied headache and pain management. • Salon owner Cindy Vong is fighting the Arizona Board of Cosmetology's decision to ban flesh-eating fish foot treatments. "The board knows nothing about spa fish therapy, so its reaction is to shut it down," said her lawyer. "The board's action is more about protecting cosmetologists from competition than it is about protecting consumers against anything except wet feet and smooth skin." • On Thanksgiving, a woman and her brother were fighting over whether their parents are too old to be watching their children, when he allegedly threw extremely hot pecan pie at her after it was heated in the microwave. She was treated for first and second degree burns to her neck, face, and chest. Her brother is expected to be charged with aggravated assault. • 26-year-old Swedish father Ragnar Bengtsson has given up his months-long attempt to pump milk from his breasts. "All he got was sore breasts," said the host of a local show that was following the progress of the "Milkman." However, Bengtsson isn't walking away empty handed: He's flying to the U.S. to appear on - of course - The Tyra Banks Show. •

• PETA has requested that school official replace Uga with a robot, but so far UGA hasn't responded. •  According to new research, men are more likely to be woken up by a fly or the wind than by a crying baby. Wailing infants doesn't even register on the top ten of sounds most likely to disturb their sleep. Not so for women, who may be evolutionarily programed to react to a child's cries, or so suggests the author of the study. •  After being caught with a prostitute, a Swedish man told authorities that he was driven to pay for sex because his wife was pregnant, and he hadn't had sex in five months. He also asked that all letters regarding the incident be sent to his work address, to keep the charges secret from his wife. •  Women in Syria are at the forefront of the country's religious revival, according to the BBC. Many women are turning to prayer groups lead by female preachers, who are often quite conservative. • A 13-year-old girl from Detroit met a 19-year-old man on Facebook, who she allegedly invited over to her house, where they had "sex". She then hid the man in her closet for two days, before her mother finally found him. •  According to a new study out of Australia, women spend more time doing pleasurable activities than men (15 minutes each day) and are more likely to spend time socializing. Researchers also report that men spend six minutes more everyday on activities they dislike, including commuting and work. •  Carlo Pacelli, the lawyer representing Congolese man Patrick Diya Lumumba—who Amanda Knox initially accused of murdering her roommate—called Knox a "diabolical she-devil" in court. He also made mention of her vibrators and rumors of bad hygiene, concluding that she "is unclean on the outside because she was dirty on the inside." Knox's stepfather, who was in court, said Pacelli's statement is a "sexist discourse that sets Italy back 100 years." • On the other side of her family, Amanda Knox's father and stepmother are being investigated for defamation. Last year, they told the Sunday Times that Knox was beaten and brutalized by members of the Italian police force. "It is odd that the timing is coming out now, five days before the end of the trial, and this is supposed to be something that happened over a year ago," said Knox's stepmother. • Mary Arnott of Toronto has been given an honorary diploma from St. Peter's Girls High School on Staten Island for her 100th birthday. She had been in the class of 1925, but dropped out when her mother died during her senior year. "I kept going to night school and more night school and finally got business training and became a secretary to a lawyer, but it wasn't the same," said Arnott. • One of the rites involved in Islam's annual hajj involves pilgrims jogging seven times between two spots in Mecca to reenact Abraham's consort Hagar running between two hills searching for water for her dying son. Shahidah Sharif, an American Muslim on this year's pilgrimage, says clerics should stop telling women to do the run slowly because they are "weaker" or running is immodest. "We are commemorating the act of a woman, someone who made a sacrifice not just for her child but to the building of an entire city," Sharif said. "And she was going through these extremes to provide for her child, without thinking about gender, and here it is now (they're) making it forbidden for women to run." •

Kami is the world's first HIV-positive Muppet. She was introduced back in 2002 to help educate kids about living with HIV/AIDS and promote acceptance of HIV-positive individuals (her name is derived from the Setswana word "Kamogelo," meaning "acceptance.") Kami, who lost her mother to AIDS, is quite knowledgable about the disease, and frequently speaks with the other Muppets about the things you can and cannot do with an HIV-positive person (sex is never mentioned - the focus is more on hugging and dealing with sadness than body-to-body transmission of the disease). The blog U Don't Like My Opinion describes her as a "healthy HIV Positive, affectionate 5 year old orphan who is a little shy but quickly joins when approached in a friendly way."

Despite Kami's positive message, some disapprove of including an HIV-positive character on a children's show. Yesterday, The Week ran a roundup of the ten most controversial moments in Sesame Street history, where Kami is listed alongside other such "scandals" as the furor over Cookie Monster's unhealthy diet and Oscar the Grouch's mood swings. According to The Week, "some parents protest that their children are too young to face the harsh realities of the virus." Juhie Bhatia for Global Voices notes that much of the controversy was located in the U.S. Although Kami has never appeared on American Sesame Street, conservatives were all up in arms before her launch in 2002, apparently riled up by the fear that she would start indoctrinate kids into the homosexual lifestyle. Kami's Wikipedia page quotes a letter from the Traditional Values Coalition:

The introduction of an HIV-infected Muppet on Sesame Street is problematic because HIV is spread primarily by homosexuals and bisexuals in the U.S. It is likely that an HIV-infected Muppet would be used to teach tolerance and acceptance of homosexuals to the preschool Sesame Street audience. In effect, this would be another propaganda tool to normalize homosexuality in our culture.

Some bloggers agree. Bhatia quotes a blogger who argues that a character like Kami is unnecessary in America, because children here "are not forced to deal with the issue of HIV/AIDS at that young of an age." Rosemarie Truglio, vice president of education and research for Sesame Workshop, responds to this type of criticism in an interview with USA Today,

"We get letters all the time," Truglio says. "My response is always this: Sesame Street is this wonderful, multicultural place where we celebrate differences as well as similarities. I want to make sure – and I've inherited this mission from our founders – that when kids watch this show, they can all see themselves."

Fortunately, Truglio's attitude seems to be the prevailing one. Kami has been named a UNICEF global Champion for Children. She has appeared alongside Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, and interviewed by Katie Couric. In 2006, she spoke with Bill Clinton about AIDS and acceptance (the video is available online here). Despite the haters, Kami has become a lasting piece of Sesame Street's history, and although we probably won't be seeing Kami in the U.S. anytime soon, she is an example of Sesame Street's willingness to weather controversy in favor of education. Tuglio explains, "we never talk down to children, and we're not afraid to explore sensitive topics."

Sesame Street's HIV-Positive Muppet Raises Awareness [Global Voices Online]
At 40, Sesame Street Is In A Constant State Of Renewal [USA Today]
Kami [Wikipedia]
Top 10 Sesame Street Controversies [The Week]
President Clinton And Muppet Kami Share HIV/AIDS Message [Unicef Youtube]

The other twin continued to grow, living inside Kang's stomach and crushing her internal organs. Doctors say this condition is very rare, but Kang is recovering well from her surgery, and is going to be just fine. • Self magazine has ranked the top 10 healthiest cities for women, based on disease rates and other factors. Topping the list is Burlington, Vt., which boasts a large number of co-ops and organic food options, as well as low rates of diabetes, cholesterol and hypertension. •  According to a doctoral thesis out of Spain, students aged 11-16 have generally resigned themselves to bullying. They believe that it is "something natural" and has always happened. They also found that girls viewed bullies differently than boys. Girls tended to empathize with the victims and associate negative feelings with the bully, while boys focused more on the shame of being a victim. •  Researchers have discovered a rather odd link between morning sickness during pregnancy and cognitive ability. Apparently, children whose mothers suffered from nausea and puking tend to score slightly better on cognitive tests. Doctors believe hormone levels may be to blame. • Devout Muslim Rabia Sarwar allegedly tried to slit her new husband Sheikh Naseem's throat, saying he's emotionally abusive and made her drink alcohol, eat pork, and wear revealing clothes. He's unharmed, and she's been charged with attempted murder. • The American people apparently have as low an opinion of Sarah Palin's qualifications as they did of Dan Quayle's. • Also, Iowans can relax: Palin isn't giving a speech in your state... yet. • The US currently bans people with HIV from entering the country, meaning there hasn't been a major AIDS conference here since 1993. However, Obama says he will reverse the ban next year. • Rev. Bernice King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter, will become the first female head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which her father helped found. • An Iraqi man accused of running his daughter over with a car because she had become "too Westernized" has been found in Atlanta after a search. • A study found that Swedish mothers who ate more vegetables during pregnancy were less likely to have children with type 1 diabetes. No word on what happens to babies whose moms eat a lot of Swedish fish. • Hillary Clinton's meeting with Pakistani women today went poorly, perhaps because she modeled it on "The View" — or perhaps because she joked about "not talking about security issues," while the Pakistani women want to talk about... security issues. • Pat Robertson responded to Obama's signing of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, which would allow hate crime prosecution for crimes based on sexual orientation, by saying, "The noose has tightened around the necks of Christians." Because not letting Christians persecute gay people is apparently the same as lynching them. • On facing Jaycee Dugard's kidnapper Phillip Garrido in court, the woman he raped 32 years ago says, "It's always been just under the surface of my life, and I thought this was in its box and put away. But this Pandora 's box is open for me, and now I'm dealing with it again on a different level, like I've been victimized myself." • Two waitresses are suing Hooters after they were forced to buy the hideous orange uniforms out of pocket. It is illegal to demand employees buy uniforms if they are required to wear something other than "everyday street clothes." "I don't think that could confuse the Hooters uniform clothes as part of someone's ordinary wardrobe," said their lawyer. •  A recent study from Harvard University has found that men, regardless of their sexual orientation, are most attracted to faces that look most synonymous with their gender. In other words, gay men like very masculine looking men, while straight men are attracted to the most feminine-looking women. • 

• Welfare workers report that girls in gangs are often raped by the male members of the gang as part of initiation, but many of them accept this as routine. "The girls think they are going to be protected by the gang if they have sex with one person but then they find there are more boys there," said Teresa Pointing, chief executive of In-volve, a charity that works with teen girls. • According to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, Sasha and Malia Obama have not been vaccinated for swine flu. The vaccine is currently unavailable to the twogirls because they are not at high risk. • Doctor Patrick O'Brian recalls being shocked at the state of pregnant women in Uganda, a country that apparently has some of the worst maternal care in the world. In efforts to address this issue, he started a program with the University College Hospital in London that works to distribute medicine to women in need and offer pre and post-natal care to mothers. • Researchers have found that breast reduction surgery may have unexpected benefits. Through testing the removed tissue, doctors may be able to better identify patients at risk for breast cancer. Another upside to breast reduction? Decreased back pain and increased range of movement. • According to a new study, well-educated older women who live alone report a lower emotional well-being than breast cancer patients who live with a partner. •  A little girl from Brooklyn has made the news for a heartbreaking letter she wrote to Sasha and Malia Obama. Bianca's mother was shot several years ago by an abusive boyfriend, and the 6-year-old and her father are still struggling. In her letter, she begged for help for her family, and readers of the Daily News have been quick to respond. • Researchers have found that sperm itself - and not just the fluid it travels in - may transmit HIV to healthy cells. Doctors previously suspected that sperm could transmit the virus, but they were unable to prove this until recently. • A revealing new poll from the UK shows that 90% of expecting mothers are denied the choice as to where they will give birth. The vast majority of women in Britain are not offered the option to give birth at home or at a birthing center attended by a midwife. • The Daily Beast on sexism in nonprofits: "Charity is not allowed to use the same tools as business because society subconsciously regards it as female, and discriminates against it the same way it has historically discriminated against women." Read the rest of their interesting take on charity here. • Good news: The Saudi king has decided not to flog a female journalist charged with participation in a television show in which a man spoke publicly about his sex life. • Among women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, breast cancer is diagnosed six years earlier than in previous generations. Doctors don't know if women are screened better today, or if hormonal and environmental factors are giving women cancer earlier. • Jury selection will begin today in the trial of the first 12 male members of the polygamist sect whose Yearning For Zion ranch was raided last year. Flora Jessop, who escaped the compound 15 years ago, said she's happy to see the men go on trial but, "What I'm upset the most about, I think, is the fact that none of the women have been indicted, as well. ... I think that the women were nothing but pimps on that compound and giving their daughters over to these perverts knowing what was going to happen to them." • A study by the National Center for Voice and Speech found that female teachers used their voices about 10 percent more than males when teaching and 7 percent more when not teaching. Female teachers speak louder than male teachers at work. All teachers spend more time talking than most professionals and are at a greater risk for hurting their voices. • Debbie Davis, 29, of Sunderland, England has been named Britain's top Avon saleswoman. She started selling the cosmetics when she was laid off five years ago and now she's making $408,000 a year. • 14-year-old Dutch girl Laura Dekker says she will wait until the school year is over to begin her attempt to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe. She had planned to head out in August but was stopped by authorities who said she was too young. The court is expected to rule on her case by Friday. • Elizabeth Edwards told a local news station that John Edwards said of their relationship, "Perhaps [it's] not the great love story that we hoped, but maybe a great love story nonetheless." Well, most great love stories don't involve the man possibly fathering a child with another woman. • After more than 120 years, the Beloit's girls reformatory school in Kansas closed for good in August. Before 1983 the institution often housed girls who hadn't committed criminal offenses, but were considered "incorrigible," "immoral," or had suffered abuse at home. Under some administrations, girls were punished with huge doses of vomit- and diarrhea-inducing castor oil, humiliated with forced hair clipping, or even sterilized. • After a "concerned citizen" in Yulee, Florida tipped the police that the Girls Gone Wild bus was in town, police organized an undercover investigation and arrested seven women who complied with the organizers' request that they "show their breasts so they could be photographed/filmed or so they could have their breasts spray painted. The women were charged with indecent exposure along with the bar's owner and two Girls Gone Wild employees, who were each charged with illegally operating a sexually oriented business. •

• It's believed that Hitler took a cyanide pill and shot himself in his Berlin bunker in April 1945. The Russians said they dug up his burnt and buried corpse, with a bullet in the head, and finally cremated it in 1970, saving the jawbone and a fragment from the skull. American archaeologist Nick Bellantoni, who was allowed to examine the fragments in Moscow, says, "The bone seemed very thin - male bone tends to be more robust. It corresponds to a woman between the ages of 20 and 40... There is no report of [Hitler's wife Eva Braun] having shot herself or having been shot afterwards. It could be anyone's." • Several California domestic violence shelters have closed in recent months because Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger eliminated financing for the state's Domestic Violence Program due to a budget gap. "The governor understands how difficult these cuts are," said Schwarzegnegger's spokesman. "But he can't promise money we don't have." Many shelters have had to cut back on staff, counseling services, safe visitation centers, and legal services like help obtaining restraining orders. • A 14-year-old British girl died today after receiving the Cervarix vaccine as part of a national immunization program in the U.K. Doctors say no link can be made between her death and the vaccination before the post-mortem is performed, but the batch of vaccine used has been quarantined. • Couples in Chonqing, China's biggest provincial municipality, will not be allowed to divorce during an eight day holiday beginning on Thursday celebrating 60 years of communist rule. Officers at marriage registration centers said they can't cope with the high demand for weddings during the holiday and issue divorces. • University of Washington researchers found that depression, obesity, and alcohol abuse or dependency are interrelated conditions among young women but not men. Carolyn McCarty, the study's lead author, says, "Body image is particularly important for women. There seems to be a transfer that when women feel bad they eat more. That can have devastating effects emotionally and physically. But for men experiencing obesity, the reverse is true, and obesity seems to be protective against depression. It's the so-called 'jolly fat man' theory, which suggests that overweight people are actually happier." • Scottish researchers found the transmission of HIV among heterosexuals is slower than among homosexual men, "The slower dynamics of the heterosexual epidemic thus offer more opportunity for successful intervention, but it is essential that diagnosis is achieved as early as possible," said study leader Andrew Leigh Brown. • A Malaysian religious court appeals panel upheld the sentence of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, who will receive six cane strokes for drinking beer. The 32-year-old mother of two had refused to appeal her sentence, saying she wanted to serve as an example to other Muslims. Her father said, "She is ready to face her punishment and all she hopes for now is that it be done professionally and according to procedures set out in Islam." • Author Annette Gordon-Reed won the $25,000 Frederick Douglas Book Prize for her history book The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family. The prize is awarded every year by Yale University's Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition for "the best book written in English on slavery or abolition." • 92-year-old Jane Bockstruck of New Hampshire completed a "flawless" skydive earlier this month. "I must have read it someplace and all of a sudden, 'I'm going to go skydiving.' So I did," Bockstruck said. "I've done so many things in life, I figured I'd just try something different for a change."

Scientists have been trying to develop an HIV vaccine for decades, with no success. One trial even had to be stopped because vaccinated patients appeared to be at higher risk of getting the virus. But in a study of Thai men and women at average risk of contracting HIV, 51 of the 8,197 who were vaccinated became infected, compared with 74 of the 8,198 who received a placebo shot. The AP calls this 31% reduction in risk "modest," but it may pave the way for a better vaccine later on. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which cosponsored the study, says, "It gives me cautious optimism about the possibility of improving this result. [...] This is something that we can do."

The vaccine is actually a combination of two previously tested vaccines. One, AIDSVAX, was meant to stimulate the production of antibodies to fight off HIV infection. The other, ALVAC, was meant to help fight HIV more effectively after infection through a process called "cell-mediated immunity." Neither vaccine had worked on its own in clinical trials. And the combination did not reduce the amount of the virus in the bloodstream of those who did get infected. Since the combined vaccine appeared not to affect any of the usual indicators of immunity to the virus, Fauci said its success "tells us how much we have to learn" about what really keeps people from getting infected.

It's not clear whether a 31% reduction in risk is enough for the vaccine to be distributed widely in Thailand or elsewhere. The researchers said they would offer the vaccine to the control group if it showed a "clear benefit," of greater than 50% reduction. And Fauci said that scientists usually would not try to license any vaccine less than 70-80% effective. It's more likely that the results of the study will be used to try to develop other, better vaccines. Says Fauci, "If you have a product that's even a little bit protective, you want to look at the blood samples and figure out what particular response was effective and direct research from there."

Skeptics caution that it's too early to tell whether this vaccine will ever lead to a more effective one. AIDS researcher John P. Moore says, "The rush to judgment is something we should try to avoid. We shouldn't be drawing radical conclusions based on a few raw numbers." Still, it's tempting to see this vaccine as a glimmer of hope in the battle to end one of the biggest public health nightmares of the past 25 years. HIV/AIDS has become such a huge part of modern medicine and sexual politics that it's now hard to imagine a world where it doesn't exist, but anyone born before the early 80s has lived in such a world. Cultural critics sometimes refer to the pre-HIV era as a more "innocent" time, when sex didn't have the same risks it now does. And while plenty of other STDs exist, and pregnancy will always be a concern, it's interesting to imagine what would happen if we could all be vaccinated against one of sex's most dire consequences. Would sex education change? Would abstinence-only types have more trouble arguing that premarital sex was inherently bad for you? Would our puritanical-yet-sex-obsessed culture become a little more at ease with sexuality? Let's hope we get the chance to find out.

Combo Vaccine Reduces Risk Of HIV Infection, Researchers Say [CNN]
For First Time, AIDS Virus Vaccine Effective In Trial [AP, via LA Times]
AIDS Vaccine Experiment Yields Unanticipated Results [Washington Post]
For First Time, AIDS Vaccine Shows Some Success In Trials [NYT]

Uganda is attempting to stem the growing epidemic by offering more options for women to protect themselves. Research showed that women were highly at risk for new infections (and can pass these infections on to their offspring through childbirth, so new initiatives were explored. Heading up the renewed push is a female condom program, but it has already encountered some significant stumbling blocks.

With funding so limited, many donors argue, why invest in an expensive product that faces deep skepticism from the people who would use it? Female condoms, originally introduced in the early 1990s, have struggled to gain widespread acceptance because they are more expensive and less familiar than male condoms - they're big and baggy, make rustling noises during sex, and you need instruction and practice to learn how to insert them properly.

But Uganda sees the female condom as one way to regain the success the nation had in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the 1990s. After slashing its AIDS rate from more than 20% in the late '80s to about 6% in 2000, Uganda saw a leveling off of AIDS cases and then a slight rise. No one has been able to explain the reversal. Some say it's related to failed distribution programs for the male condom in the past. Other experts suspect that it's a result of foreign NGOs and governments pushing Uganda away from effective domestic programs that were aimed at keeping people from having more than one sexual partner, a relatively common practice in the country.

Other news from Uganda points to circumcision as an effective deterrent to HIV. The NY Times reports:

[C]ircumcision can make a significant dent in the H.I.V./AIDS crisis in this country is still being debated, because the epidemic in the United States is so different from the one in Africa. The African trials found heterosexual men were less likely to acquire the H.I.V. virus after circumcision, but largely ignored the question of whether women were safer - or possibly put at even greater risk of infection, as one small study suggested - if the man was circumcised; they also focused exclusively on heterosexual transmission, though in the United States, men who have sex with men are at higher risk.

Even Dr. Gray, who led the trials, is not sure the United States should promote circumcision. "If you were to ask me, should the U.S. be promoting circumcision, my answer would be, ‘no,' " he said. "What I do think ought to be the policy is that parents should be informed about the potential protective effects."

Each article hinted at religious and cultural traditions that enabled the spread of HIV/AIDS and the distrust of misuse of condoms, but focused on a lot of the issues between existing solutions. AIDS is still spreading in all corners of the globe and for some reason, despite educational campaigns and the occasional project funding, we seem to be succumbing to the virus.

The Battle In Uganda Over Female Condoms [Time]
The Latest Fight Over the Foreskin [NY Times]
Statistics: Worldwide [AMFAR]

• Researchers have taken on the conventional wisdom that many dogs resemble their owners, but the results are mixed. Some found that dogs do show similar facial expressions as their owners, but others say the entire idea is bull. • The Sudanese woman charged with indecency for wearing pants has been banned from leaving the country, she said Tuesday. Lubna Hussein faces 40 lashes for being caught in loose-fitting trousers. • A new study found that middle-aged men who idealize masculinity are 50% less likely than other men to seek health care. "This research strongly suggests that deep-seated masculinity beliefs are one core cause of men's poor health, inasmuch as they reduce compliance with recommended preventative health services," said researcher Kristen W. Springer. • Researchers have linked the use of food stamps to weight gain among women. They found no signs of a similar trend among men. • According to the Wall Street Journal, many young couples are experiencing the fatigue of constant companionship that usually comes with retirement. Unemployed or recently laid off lovers are bugging each other about minor things, and apparently, this is a downer. • Cool lady-director Katheryn Bigelow has announced her next project: An adventure movie titled "Triple Frontier," set on the border of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. • Professor Catherine Lumby, an adviser to the Australian National Rugby League on women's issues says that intimate partner violence is an issue in the Australian Football League. "I hate to say (it) but it remains epidemic, sexual violence, physical violence," she said in an interview with ABC radio. • The International Olympic Committee is considering adding women's boxing to the lineup for the 2012 London Olympics. Also under consideration: Mixed doubles tennis and 50-meter sprints in swimming. • A researcher from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that only half the doctors in Texas are recommending the HPV vaccine to girls age 11-12. In 2006, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that all girls 11-12 should be vaccinated for HPV, but many doctors remain reluctant to discuss the vaccine. • A report released today by UNAIDS states that 50 million women in Asia are at risk for contracting HIV from their boyfriends or husbands. More than 90% of Asian women with HIV/AIDS were exposed to the virus by their long-term partners. • Amateur tennis champ Nancy Griffin is suing the city of Raleigh for discrimination and emotional damages after a men's league, sponsored by the city, banned her from playing. •

Researchers Dan Allman and Melissa Ditmore surveyed sex workers for their report, Good Practice for Sex Workers' Participation in Biomedical HIV Prevention Trials. They found that sex workers didn't necessarily know about research practices and medical ethics, and that researchers didn't know they didn't know. To remedy this, they suggested that researchers — shocker — actually "consult local sex workers at each proposed location before beginning a trial." Allman and Ditmore write,

Many sex workers had recommendations for researchers hoping to work with sex workers such as involving stakeholders from the outset, explaining procedures in non-technical terms and translating all materials and information into local languages.

They also say that many sex workers "wanted to learn more about research and would consider involvement in research providing they were confident it was ethical and participatory." So basically sex workers are interested in participating in clinical trials, provided they know what they're getting into. We wonder if that was the case with the participants recent nonoxynol-9 trials, who experienced no reduction in HIV transmission and an increase in genital lesions. Whether or not these women were truly informed, it makes sense that future studies need to treat sex workers as "stakeholders," and not passive "subjects" with no interests of their own.

Note: The women pictured are Bolivian sex workers protesting for the right to work.

What Do Sex Workers Think About The Ethics Of Biomedical Research Studies That Are Done On Them? [Feministe]

Earlier: Researchers Stop New Male Circumcision Trial In Uganda

• A Massachusetts-based research team reports the reason why HIV progresses faster in women than in men: The receptor molecule that recognizes the virus responds differently in women, which leads to further differences in T cell activation. • An eco-minded brothel in Berlin has decided to follow the trend and go green by offering discounts to customers who arrive on bicycles. It's a nice thought, but we hope they don't take it too far and start recycling prophylactics. •  Ugh: 12 women in Sudan were arrested for wearing trousers, and several have already been flogged in punishment, reports a journalist who was arrested alongside the other "indecently dressed" ladies. •  You know how sleeping dogs in Disney movies always seem to be dreaming about chasing something? Researchers from the University of Barcelona noticed the disturbed dreams and diagnosed the pups with sleep disorder RBD. • The presidential beehive has produced its first batch of honey, according to beekeeper Charlie Brandts. The official honey of the White House apparently looks "splendid" and tastes great with a citrus-y flavor. • 151 brides in India were forced to undergo manual virginity examinations by a government-employed gynecologist before they were cleared to participate in a mass wedding. The wedding was part of a government sponsored program to provide poor young women with husbands and a small dowry. "Since there is money involved, many women, try to take advantage," said an official of the required examinations. •  So-called "alpha" women earn 4% more than their "passive" coworkers, a new study claims. They also found that "neurotic" women suffer from their womanly neuroses and earn 3% less. The researchers conclude that women benefit from "alpha male-like" behavior, and thus should try to act "masculine" at work rather than "nice." (Sorry for the excess of quotes, but this "study" seems to require them.) • After spending two decades imprisoned in her home, Burmese democratic leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has begun to fall out of the public eye, and many members of the younger generation view her as a historical icon rather than a living political figure. Suu Kyi is currently facing trial for violating the terms of her house arrest; however, the trial has been temporarily postponed. •  Several ballsy members of Congress have banded together to form a bipartisan women's softball team. "Some of us have thought about playing baseball, but they take it so seriously. If I'm going to commit to be out at 7 a.m. practices, I'm going to want to play at some point. And they're so damn competitive - I know the odds of one of us getting in the game is slim," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. • 

• Scientists are trying to figure out why some male baboons hang out with single female baboon mothers without trying to have sex with them. "So we really don't know what these guys got out of the friendship, other than maybe spending time with a mum and a new baby and having other females seeing this," said primatologist Nga Nguyen. • According to a recent survey, 47% of Hispanic women are still spending the same amount or more than they did last year, despite fears for the failing economy. • In efforts to raise awareness about HIV/AIDs, Swaziland has launched a nation-wide "love test" campaign that urges couples to get tested together. • A study of men in South Africa found that 25 percent admit to having committed a sexual assault. • The judge in the Caylee Anthony case has sealed a video of Anthony's reaction when told her daughter's body was found, saying that it would taint the jury pool. • A company in Florida is besmirching the good name of Dr. Oz by selling anti-aging pills using his image. The company claims to offer a free monthly trial, but customers say that they continued to receive charges after they had attempted to cancel their subscriptions. • Maintaining a beach-ready bikini line is not only a pain in the butt—it can also be dangerous. MSNBC warns that Brazilian waxing often carries a risk of infection. • A British father recently created the Babyglow line of onesies, which change color as the baby's temperature rises. The outfits come in baby blue, pink, and pastel green and can help protect infants from overheating. • In Britain, young women supposedly aspiring to live like the rich and famous are going bankrupt at higher rates than men, from foolish things like getting their own apartments and being subject to the wage gap. • Sony is launching a new dude-site with an online reality show about a porn star mother. • There are a number of species that engage in same-sex relationships in the animal kingdom, and scientists are learning they have an evolutionary purpose. • NYPD Officer Andrew Dunton, who mistakenly short fellow officer Omar Edwards in a case of mistaken identity, called Edwards' widow at her request to offer his condolences. • Cecile Brossard has been found guilty of the murder of her lover, French banker Edouard Stern. She killed him during a bondage session when he called her a whore. • Some psychology experts say that men are more involved than ever in their children's lives. •

We mentioned earlier that efforts to increase the number of girls' football teams in Uganda are being met with resistance. Many traditionalists in the neighboring country of Kenya were also hostile to the idea when Unicef launched the Ukunda Queens football team in the Islamic province of Kwale, according to The Times of London. "Starting a girls' football league seemed like a crazy idea at first," said Roselyn Mutemi-Wangahu, the team's coordinator, "We had to reach those girls. They don't stay in school or go to organised groups. Their parents keep them at home," she explained. "We had to bring them together to raise their confidence and teach them about HIV. Here, the one thing that brings everyone together is soccer."

Girls in Kwale have some of the lowest levels of education in Kenya, and traditional views toward women are especially oppressive there. In the province, girls are not allowed to speak to their fathers directly, may be sent back to their parents if they refuse to have sex with their husband, and are often beaten. Teenage girls are seven times more likely to contract HIV than boys of the same age, and the "treatments" make matters even worse. Witchdoctors in Kwale encourage people to have sex with HIV-infected patients, and some believe girls should sleep with their father and uncles to "make them fat and strong" and "open the door to other men."

Initially locals were hostile to the idea of a girls' football league. Anisa Kombo, 23, who is on the Ukunda Queens said that older men used to harass them during their early matches. She said:

When they saw us playing they cursed us. Some Muslim leaders said that we were being led into prostitution. Other boys and girls called us lesbians. Here the idea is that the woman stays in the kitchen. A girl may never set foot in school and can be married off at 12.

But eventually, people started to accept the league because the girls on the team were receiving HIV/AIDS education. A local man said, "According to our traditions, what they are doing is wrong but if it's about HIV, it's acceptable."

After the foundation of the Ukunda Queens, football league district chairmen Mohamed Said Mwakulola says he started going door to door trying to persuade more parents to let their daughters join teams. "It took three years, one step at a time," he says, explaining that in some cases it took more than a year to build a full team. The league, which is part of Unicef's Kick Aids project, has expanded, and now there are thousands of women's teams in Kenya. "There has been a change in our community in letting the girls play football - and it gives me hope," said Mwakulola.

Kenyan Women United In Freedom And Football [The Times of London]

Earlier: Kicking Old Habits