http://www.wisdomofwhores.com Of sex and science. Elizabeth Pisani's blog about HIV and other sundry things. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:06:26 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've been known to take the piss out of scientists who think people make decisions about sex the way they make decisions about what stocks to invest in, nice and rationally. My published references even include "Sex is fun, remember?". In my experience, a hard-on (or its female equivalent, a ... http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/07/25/paid-to-pleasure-oneself/ Can I get away with posting this e-mail from restaurant reviewer Giles Coren to the Times on the grounds that it has a blow job in it? Or that its author is a wanker (of which more tomorrow)? Read. Enjoy. Remember never to e-mail your colleagues when you've had a few. ... http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/07/24/off-topic-dont-e-mail-when-youve-had-too-much-rose/ Last week, Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche said it was giving up on HIV-related research. I expected some cynical “told you so” comments from industry analysts, but the reaction to the announcement was surprisingly muted. Even AIDS activists were mousy. Activists have done a spectacular job in slapping down the price of ... http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/07/21/will-big-pharma-get-littler-in-hiv-research/ You don’t need to speak Spanish to get the message of this “AIDS awareness” ad. Will this sort of generalised pap make you use a condom the next time you get lucky with someone you don’t know too well? Perhaps. And perhaps it will stop you smoking or overeating -- ... http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/07/20/everyone%e2%80%99s-at-risk-%c2%bfverdad/ Our genes are amazing. They win battles for us against some pathogens (malaria), but their victories can leave us exposed to others (HIV). That’s the lesson from a fascinating paper published recently in Cell and Host Microbe. Researchers looking at data from a large group of American servicemen have found that ... http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/07/19/hiv-friendly-genes-and-good-science-writing/ Though I've been wrestling the dreaded PowerPoint more than I'd like to recently, I haven't posted for a while on data presentation. So I'm stealing this absolute gem that Environmental Graffiti ran under the title "World's most expensive place to have sex" and Presentation Zen relayed under the title "When ... http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/07/18/chart-junk-ies/ The bill allowing another US$ 50 billion of US taxpayer's cash to be spent on HIV in developing countries has finally been given the thumbs up by the Senate. There's good and bad drafted on to the PEPFAR legislation. The good is the dropping of a law which forbids foreigners ... http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/07/17/looking-the-pepfar-gift-horse-in-the-mouth/ Bush may be quacking around with a limp, but the fundamentalists that support him are squeezing all they can out of these last, lame-duck months. For me, the first sign that US Christians were prepared to terrorise people into dropping contraception was this poster in the Tanzanian capital Dar Es ... http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/07/16/condoms-death-part-2/ I'm spending a few days making hay with friends in the hills near Geneva. I leave you with this priceless image courtesy of the rectal microbicide folks. What can Ana have been thinking of? http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/07/13/dys-lexia/ If you live your life among people whose lives, jobs or natural curiousity open their minds to the world, it is easy to forget how rigid some people are in their views. Today, I was sent a shocking reminder of the vitriol that comes with a small mind; it made ... http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/07/12/psycho-alert-and-a-mea-culpa/