• 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." •

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]

• When presented with the dress, bride Lin Rong "laughed and cried at the romantic gesture." Her husband-to-be said: "I do not want a cliche wedding parade or banquet." • Following the success of a similar pilot program, DC officials have announced that they plan to offer STD testing to all high school students in the coming school year. Cue the denial driven parental outrage. • A new study found that 60% of black parents said that they would consider volunteering at their children's schools, up from 23% in 2008. Researchers believe this is part of the Obama Effect. • Little Orphan Annie turned 85 yesterday! The "Annie" comic strip first appeared on Aug. 5, 1924. Creator Harold Gray originally planed on publishing a strip called "Little Orphan Otto," but he changed it at the last minute on his editor's suggestion. •  The Australian government has forged a partnership with soccer authorities in attempts to encourage more girls (and women) to play football. • In order to better understand the life of Muslim women, three British police women donned robes and hijabs for a day. The exercise, called "In Your Shoes," has drawn some criticism. "This is a complete waste of police time and taxpayers' money," said Douglas Murray of the Center for Social Cohesion. "It's not the duty of police to empathize with particular sections of the community." • The British Trade Union Congress is considering a motion to ban stiletto heels from the work place as a health hazard to women. Some women are saying, "From my cold, dead feet." • A female stripper from Australia has been found not guilty of raping the best man at a bachelor party where she was hired to perform. The victim claims that, after sticking a sex toy into his anus against his protests, Linda Naggs told him it was "just a joke," and told him not to worry, "only you and I know." • Denver Radio Station KTNI decided to scrap its indie music format in favor of "Classic Non Stop Stripper Hits, from the 80's, 90's and today." They're now going by 101.5 The Pole. • Sam, the koala made famous by this photograph, has passed away during surgery to remove several cysts caused by chlamydia. • Two important advertisers have pulled their support of radio network Austereo, following the forced confession of a 14-year-old girl that she had been raped during a lie detector segment of the Kyle and Jackie O Show. • Newspaper editor Chansa Kabwela is currently on trial for distributing images of a woman giving birth in a parking lot after she was turned away from a hospital. Zambia president Rupiah Banda deemed the images pornographic and called for charges to be brought against Kabwela. • Lula Mae Battle, 81, had charges against her dropped when prosecutors learned that her public urination arrest was due to age-related incontinence. • A woman in Texas has been charged with mutilating her infant while high on drugs. Yes, another one. • A woman from New York was ticketed for breastfeeding in a parked car. Although she admits they were in a "no standing" zone, Marta Lily and Enrique Velez pleaded with the officer not to ticket them, and offered to move while he was busy writing out the forms. • Saudi citizen Mazen Abdul-Jawad is facing more than 200 charges for appearing on a Lebanese television show discussing the fact that he's had sex and liked it. Abdul-Jawad is the divorced father of 4. • New research shows that although baby-making declines as countries achieve certain levels of wealth, it goes up again once they get really rich. • Lori Drew wants her internet access back. The Internet doesn't want her. • Daniela Earnest of Tulare, California learned that California regulations really are as bad as conservative commentators warn: local officials shut down her corner lemonade stand, which she opened to pay for tickets to Disneyland, because it lacked the proper business permits. Although the city is contemplating a change to the law, a local radio station traded her family 4 tickets to Disneyland in exchange for 30 cups of lemonade. • Be warned: The story I'm about to link to may offend some with its absurdly bad puns: According to a new study, women who down one or two glasses of wine a day have better sex lives than those who abstain. •

* The doctor who tried to save the life of Neda Agha Soltan claims to have identified her killer. • Audio tapes of Silvio Berlusconi talking to escort Patrizia D'Addario have hit the Internet. In one conversation, Berlusconi tells D'Addario to wait for him in "Putin's bed." • A new book claims the Bush twins tried to lose their Secret Service detail whenever possible, and that Secret Service agents had to take a drunk Henry Hager (now Jenna's husband) to the hospital in 2005. • A witness in evangelist Tony Alamo's sex-crimes trial may have set the prosecution back by misidentifying Alamo and contradicting her own sister, allegedly one of his victims. • Researchers have found that birth control pills are less effective in obese women not because the hormones concentrate in fat tissue, but because they take longer to reach the necessary levels in the blood. • A doctor who has advised UNICEF and the World Health Organization says breast-feeding doesn't actually protect babies from disease, but that women who breast-feed tend to have healthier lifestyles. • Young British men are more likely to commit violent acts if they live with their parents, perhaps because they "have fewer responsibilities and more disposable income to spend on alcohol." • But drinking can be good for you — if it makes you pass out in a yoga position. • A House spending bill passed Thursday allows the use of local funds to pay for abortions in DC. • And Randall Terry of Operation Rescue, totally failing to learn anything from George Tiller's death, says that if the new health-care reform bill includes coverage for abortion, "history will hold those in power responsible for the violent convulsions that follow." •

• Bad news cat people: psychologists have found that, unlike dogs, cats are unable to understand cause-and-effect connections between objects. • According to recent data, unintended births are on the rise in Nigeria. Researchers say that this is partially due to the failure of the government to implement sexual and reproductive health services successfully. • Divorce has become even more complicated in the age of Facebook. Lawyers report using information gained from their client's spouse's Facebook pages frequently in court, often to prove infidelity or other wrong doing. • Want to get ahead at work? Learn to behave like a tall person. Adrianne Cohen, author of The Tall Book schools workers on how to act tall, and be totally awkward and unlikable in the process! • Imelda Marcos, she of the famous shoe collection, may soon be reunited with her jewelry. Her collection is worth more than $310 m and includes a ruby said to be as big as a prune. • A research group from the UK found that among cancers that affect both genders, men are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with the disease and 70% more likely to die from it. This may be due in part to the fact that women tend to take better care of themselves, while men react with a stiff upper lip when faced with physical symptoms. • Federal health regulators announced today that Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel, and other products containing zinc, should no longer be used to treat congestion, since they can permanently damage one's ability to smell. • This Saturday, filmmaker Cyrus Nowrasteh's film The Stoning of Soraya M. will premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The New York Times art blog has the trailer, and it looks fascinating. • 

The CDC's website has 174 e-cards that link recipients to information on the agency's website. There are cards for offering congratulations on a new pet, flu vaccination reminders, and get well cards, as well as more bizarre fare such as:

But, the cards we'd be most disturbed to find in our inboxes deal with sex, marriage, and babies. We like the idea of using an e-card to let your partners know you've given them a STD. For most of us, getting that e-mail would be enough to make us go get checked out, but the CDC's card explains you may want to get that clamydia out of your reproductive organs because you may want to put a baby in there some day:

Well, at least the CDC isn't homophobic:

On the surface this engagement e-card isn't too bad, but it links to a "safe and healthy bride" page that starts out by telling future brides to "eat healthy" and "make smart choices to help you look and feel good for your wedding, showers, parties, and new life together." It's the perfect way to tell a friend that you don't want to be the one trying to zip her into that too-tight wedding gown.

But, what if a few years have passed and she and her husband still haven't started a family? (And she has diabetes.) Just pass on this handy hint:

Once she's expecting, there are plenty of ways to let her know that you never considered her mom material anyway:

It's really unfortunate that pregnant woman can't drink, because they may have a hard time calming down after finding these troubling reminders in her inbox:

Even after the kid is born, you can continue sending her intrusive tips about her family. Most people who suspect a friend's child has ADHD would sit them down and break it to them gently, but you could also just forward them this:

Or, just let them know that you think their little rugrats have poor hygiene:

Generally, this is all good health advice, we just don't want to be reminded that we and our loved ones are constantly in mortal danger via e-mail.

Health E-Cards [CDC.gov]
Safe And Healthy Bride [CDC.gov]

Earlier: You've Got Mail! And Something Else...

• A new survey suggests that fathers are better at giving driving lessons than mothers, who tend to panic, while dads just swear. • Brazilian researchers have found that among teenage girls, there are alarmingly high rates of STDs that often go undetected. • The BBC has an amazing video of a monkey teaching its young to floss with human hair. • More monkey news: zoologists have found that monkey tantrums should never go ignored. • From the Institute of No Shit Studies: men in their 60s drive the most powerful cars. • A Miami evangelist claiming to be the anti-Christ has gone into hiding following a court ruling to pay his ex-wife $2.2 million. Wonder if Satan will help him out of this one. • Some asshole put his wife up for sale, describing her as "Nagging Wife. No Tax, Not MOT. Very high maintenance - some rust." He says he was shocked that he received several offers. • The Hijabi Monologues, a little known play about Muslim women who wear the headscarf, is currently showing in LA. • A little over a year ago, Wajeha al-Huwaider made a pledged to get the Saudi ban on women driving lifted by Women's Day 2009. Sadly, the ban is still in place. • The man who threw his shoe at our esteemed former President has been sentenced to three years in prison by an Iraqi court. • This is not exactly news to any American college student, but the American Dietetic Association has found that 58% of "kid cereals" are actually being consumed by adults. • Sad: a survey of Boston teens found that nearly half of them believe Rihanna was responsible for Chris Brown's assault on her. •  Could Coulter's reign of terror be coming to a close? Ann Coulter's new book Guilty isn't selling nearly as well as her others did. • 

• Two year old Nigel Mutemagau is currently being held in a maximum security prison in Zimbabwe. He was abducted with his parents, and is now reportedly in solitary confinement. • Chico, a love-sick parrot, has been put on Prozac to combat her possessive obsession with her owner. • According to government health officials, STD rates are on the rise for the first time in years, with reported cases of chlamydia at an all time high. • In attempts to widen its audience beyond the bride-to-be demographic and capture the elusive currently-breastfeeding-women group, The Knot Inc. has purchased Breastfeeding.com. • A Chicago salon formerly named "Ossama's" has just changed its name to "Obama's." Click through for a pointless slide show featuring pictures of Osama bin Laden and the back of Obama's head. • New research has found that oestrogen hormone therapy, a treatment for symptoms of menopause, causes the female brain to shrink. • Companies in Britain are now offering their employees "Botox leave." Seriously? • In an incredibly tasteless move, an Austrian theater company has announced that they plan to stage a satiric soap opera about Joseph Fritzl, titled "Fritzl's Bed and Breakfast." • An anti-litter campaign is asking McDonald's to help deliver the anti-litter message at the point of sale. • Is chocolate keeping you up at night? Maybe, says the National Sleep Foundation. • In other candy news, the famous Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar will now feature the warning "CONTAINS: MILK" on its label for those customers confused by the misleading name. • One in four women report having unprotected sex after running out of the Pill. • Lucy Newmann, 22, was out with her friends at a bar in Scotland when she was punched in the face in an alleged anti-England attack. • The wife of Richard Batista, the man who sued for the return of his kidney, has spoken out against Batista, calling him "hyper-suspicious" and insanely jealous. • In a depressingly ironic twist of fate, Alec Ahsoak, a 53-year-old sex offender, recently won $350,000 in a lottery sponsored by an advocacy group for sex abuse victims. •

(Remember, kids: Don't do drugs!) In this episode Rich and I answer questions about crabs, Mariah Carey, and cakes. Got a burning question? Send it to potpsych@jezebel.com. (Or send us your phone number! We wanna talk.)

Can You Get An STD From Sharing Nasal Spray? from Pot Psychology on Vimeo.

The study, conducted at the University of Sydney, was based on a sample of 185 students, aged 16 to 25: "78% female students agreed to take part in the extensive survey compared to 22% male." The students answered questions about their sexual histories and their awareness of the STD chlamydia. The female arts students were found to be "younger, more likely to be sexually active and to report having little or no knowledge of chlamydia." The science guys, by contrast, had the least sex, even though many were older.

The explanations ranged from cultural (many of the male science students are foreign) to the stereotypical: as one psychotherapist puts it in the article, "Who are the people at unis that go to the rave parties and the bar? …It's not the nerdy boy science students." The disturbing thing about these findings is of course the fact that the population apparently most at risk  young women  is least educated about sexual health. While it seems premature to fault the universities in question, it does seem that, if a study such as this can pinpoint risk, addressing it should be that much easier. To this extent, such reports one can only help raise consciousness. However, it does seem like anything that can serve to perpetuate generalizations about the "easiness" of certain populations (see: the article's tone) is worrisome. After all, these women admitted to being sexually active, nothing more  why does this immediately become cause for innuendo and cheap jokes? While sexual ignorance should be targeted, sex itself should not be stigmatized  and one hopes this was not the study's intent. By the same token, neither should male virgins be mocked! It's a fine line  especially for young people  between hackneyed, stereotyped generalities and the people who have to live in their shadow.

'Females Studying Arts Sexually Active' [Times of India]

• R.I.P. American Girls original, Samantha Parkington. May you rest in peace with the other overpriced, historically accurate plastic toys in the sky.
• Another American icon on the decline: Hugh Hefner's bunnies and balls are musty.
• Speaking of old balls, John McCain mocked women's health in an apocryphal argument against late term abortion.
• I can't believe we have two more weeks of this. At least the debates are over.
• Well, at least one contest of note is over this week: a Project Runway winner was declared, and her name rhymes with pee pan.
• It might burn when you pee if Cosmo gives you a "pear-fection."

• It would also probably burn when you peed if you had sex with a Don Draper type. Manwhores!
• You should apologize to your body for any pear-fections incurred by Don Draper-esque encounters.
• Seriously guys. It's Friday. So macramaé yourself a jumpsuit and throw down with Jane Winebox. You deserve it!

• Many facial plastic surgeons are turning away potential patients because their expectations are too high. • The ACLU is helping a woman from Pennsylvania fight for her right to get a permit to open a pole-dancing workout studio. • More on the Indian Vogue scandal: Turns out fashion people are tasteless when it comes to stirring up sales. • The Spanish government's Socialist Party is forming a panel to amend its restrictive abortion law, which only allows abortions to be performed in the first 12 weeks in cases of rape, 22 weeks in cases of fetal malformation, and at any time if a psychologist deems pregnancy harmful to the woman. • The level of acceptance of transgender workers is growing in top companies, with 125 of the Fortune 500 currently including "gender identity" in their nondiscrimination policies. • Infant abductions are increasingly rare in the U.S., with most of the abductions taking place at the mother's home or in public and the average kidnapper being an overweight woman who feigns pregnancy. • The house and museum of Edith Warton in Massachusetts (called 'The Mount') is facing foreclosure. • Author Ruth Butler chronicles the muse-wives of famous painters in her new book, Hidden in the Shadow of the Master: The Model-Wives Of Cezanne, Monet and Rodin. • 2channel and Komachi are two of Japan's largest anonymous online forums for women, where women talk about their personal lives, troll, and get into arguments.

"Is Believing In Creationism Grounds For A Breakup?" from Pot Psychology on Vimeo.

• A new study has found that black, pot-smoking females between 15 and 21 are more likely to have STDs than their pot-free peers. • More than two dozen teenage cheerleaders got stuck in an elevator for 20 minutes after they broke the elevator by overloading it in an attempt to "see how many girls they could fit into" the elevator car. • Queen Rania of Jordan goes to the YouTubes to try dispel stereotypes about the Arab world one question at a time. Sample question? "Are you Michael Jordan's wife?" (Sigh). • Japan is dominating Leftovers today: A 16-year-old boy named Taichi Saotome is a gender-crossing dancer of a kabuki-like theater that has all of Japan mesmerizes with "a single look from his downcast eyes." • Good news for endometriosis sufferers: Scientists may have unlocked the cause of the somewhat mysterious and painful condition. • Egyptian scientists will perform DNA tests on two mummified female fetuses found in King Tut's tomb in 1922. • UK primary schools have very few male primary school teachers (1 male in 50 women) which may be because many men view being a schoolteacher as a "woman's job." • That whole "cosmetic-surgery-will-help-women's-career" drivel the media has been reporting? Total BS. • Pregnant gals: The old adage that coca butter will prevent stretch marks while you are pregnant is not true. • EW's "28 Essential Girl Power Flicks." The list includes, Little Women, The Devil Wears Prada, National Velvet, and, uh, High School Musical?

[Image via Gothamist]

Five female Indian baseball players who qualified for the Women's World Baseball Championship couldn't afford the tickets to the event, until some philanthropic people stepped in and covered their costs.

• A British blogger who wrote about his graphic sexual exploits with women in Shanghai (and caused quite a shitstorm in China) has revealed his identity, and his (surprise!) new book! • A pair of twins, one dark-skinned, one light-skinned were birthed on Friday last week in Germany to a biracial couple. • Plans to legalize prostitution in the red light districts in the South African city of Durban for the World Cup in 2010 have been met with a a great deal of opposition from religious groups. • The sexy nurse theme of a Korean music video for a female pop singer is angering actual nurses. • Olive Garden employees who appeared in Playboy can keep their button-downs and ties: The company will not issue repercussions to women who appeared in the spread. • A 10-year-old girl who competes in bodybuilding competitions is drawing criticism from people who see it as unhealthy. • Concerned police in Australia smashed a car window while trying to rescue a "reborn" doll left alone in a car. • A 55-year-old grandma fends off two would-be robbers with claw hammers with a push broom. The pictures for this story (particularly the one with the robbers scrambling for the door) are a must see. • Puppy video! My favorite Japanese pup tries to figure out how to use his brand new iPhone 3G.

Assuming that UTIs don't count as STDs (even though it's very similar to Chlamydia, since it's just bacteria, right?), my first STD was the herp. God only knows who I caught it from, but I'm pretty sure it was from one of three bartenders from the same bar I was sleeping with at the time. But it also could've been this dude from this band. Or this 22-year-old unemployed skater dude. Or this other unemployed dude who was a friend of a friend. (I know how to pick 'em!) Anyway, I felt a burning when I peed, which wasn't particularly out of the ordinary, especially for back then, when I was seemingly always recovering from chronic UTIs. I ignored it. Then I noticed this like pimple-y blister thing on my right lip. I was like, FUCK, but, heavily in denial, insisting that it might just be an ingrown hair. But when I was reduced to putting homemade ice packs on my vadge to soothe it and unable to sleep through the night because of the pain, I decided to face my fears and looked at my vadge with a hand mirror. The whole thing was inflamed. I made an emergency appointment to see my gyno, who gave me some Zovorax cream, Valtrex (just a week's worth, never do that one-a-day shit 'cause it'll kill your immune system), and some Ambien.

My second STD was Chlamydia. Boring, and easily treatable. Happened about three months after the herp. Then two weeks after that, I got a call from the dude that gave me Chlamydia, to tell me that he had gonorrhea, aka "the clap", aka "the drip." I'd decided that I must've dodged that bullet, but about eight hours after receiving that call, I was squatting over a public toilet and felt something fall out of me and heard a loud thud. I looked down and saw this big, clumpy brownish/yellowish creamy thing on the toilet seat. I called my doctor the next morning and she gave me 500 mg of Cipro and that shit went away right quick. (Seriously, if you're going to get an STD, pray that it's gonorrhea.) Anyway, I took it in stride. I'd already popped my STD cherry with herpes, so everything after that was no biggie. I even made up songs about gonorrhea to the tune of "Make It Clap" by Busta Rhymes featuring Sean John, changing the words to "I got the clap!" And then also, I changed the words of "Da' Dip" by Freak Nasty to "I put my hand up on your hip, when I drip, you drip, we drip."