AIDS

Researchers have found that homeless youth in Los Angeles are using social-networking sites to find sexual partners.

Sean Young from UCLA and Eric Rice from the University of Southern California interviewed 201 homeless youth, recruited at a drop-in agency in LA, about social-networking usage as well as sexual behaviors. And while the researchers are touting one finding--that the use of social networks is associated with increased knowledge of STD prevention--there is no getting around the other main finding: "the use of these networks for partner finding is also associated with an increase in sexual risk behaviors."

In other … Read more

Canadian firm BioLytical received FDA approval this week for the sale of its Insti HIV Rapid Antibody Test in the United States.

The test, which, at 60 seconds, will be the fastest-working on the U.S. market (others tend to take between 10 minutes and 20 minutes) is already available in more than 50 countries. In Canada's Ontario province, the kits have been available since they were first commercialized in 2006, and in British Columbia, where BioLytical is based, health authorities plan to use them for the new $48 million pilot project called Seek and Treat for the prevention … Read more

Stars sometimes cause us vast moral dilemmas.

Should we support those stars who gyrate appallingly, but whose music we secretly love? Should we adore those stars whose songs we adore, but whose personal life seems a sewer of broken hearts and severed senses?

Now there is another parameter to this axis of complication.

Lady Gaga, she of the interesting designer fashions and music for gym clothes, is, along with other stars, quitting Facebook and Twitter.

There are those for whom this news might signify disaster on a worldwide scale. Lady Gaga, after all, has more than 7 million Twitter followers, … Read more

Every home has one, ensuring they are one of the most popular rooms in the house. Even if it weren't for their ubiquity, kitchens are guaranteed to be appreciated simply because that is where the food comes from. We all have to eat, so we might as well make it enjoyable. That goes for the making of food, too. Considering how much time is spent hovering over the cooktop, one that looks good and is comfortable to use are considerations that matter. As well as where to put the darn thing.

Breaking free from on top of the range … Read more

Q: Recently I bought a used iPhone 3G from a friend. A month after I started using it, I realized that AT&T added a data plan to my service. I never use the data features so to get around the requirement, I accessed my customer profile on AT&T's Web site and changed my phone to an old Sony Ericsson W760i. I then called AT&T and asked them to take the data plan off and they reported seeing the W760i in my profile.

About an hour later, though, my profile said I have an iPhone again! Now I suspect that in another month they will tack on the data plan again. Is there a certain jailbreak that will stop AT&T from seeing that I have an iPhone? - Ryan

A: Unfortunately, each time you use your iPhone 3G, AT&T can tell which handset you're using. The company gets this information not from your customer profile, but from your phone itself. Here's how it works.

Each time you make a call, a couple of things are going on. First off, your SIM card identifies you as a subscriber to the carrier. If your account is in order, then you can make the call. Before that can happen, however, the network also accesses your phone's International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), which is a number that's unique to every GSM handset (CDMA devices use something similar called an Electronic Serial number, or ESN). The IMEI identifies the phone to your carrier and it checks that the handset is valid to use. If the phone is locked to another carrier or if it's lost or stolen--your carrier can use the IMEI to "blacklist" a device--you won't be able to make calls.

So it's the IMEI, and not your customer profile, that lets AT&T know that you're using an iPhone. You can switch to the W760i for a while, but once you go back to the iPhone AT&T will know. I'm not sure how how much time the carrier waits before tacking on the mandatory data plan, but it will happen eventually. I'm not in favor of mandatory data plans, and I really don't like it when they add new services to your contract without asking, but it happens all the time. Unfortunately, jailbreaking won't help since that process only removes the Apple-imposed restrictions that block you from downloading third-party apps.

You can find your phone's IMEI by looking behind the battery cover, on the box, or by typing *#06# on your keypad. … Read more

Sharing has always been important in how it relates to food. Survival of the species has certainly relied on such considerations as sharing time, resources, and effort, and today it is no different. A reflection of this reality can be found in our very own homes--or at least in the kitchen. Though nobody is going to go extinct if you grab the last slice of pizza, it doesn't hurt to have something else in the oven just in case.

Featuring the ability to cook a pizza up on top and a roast (or anything else really) down below, the … Read more

Coffee drinkers are a particular bunch; this is well known. However it's not all about whether they prefer a dark roast to a light roast or what temperature at which they like to have their coffee served. Other factors come in to play when it comes time to drink down the caffeinated elixir. (Assuming of course, that the choice of coffee is indeed caffeinated.) Brewing methods dominate a particularly large segment of the coffee drinker's preferences, but no matter which way the drink ends up in their hands, how old the coffee is always a factor.

For those … Read more

Gone are the days when toasters were necessary appliances; now one little box is capable of so much more. But that hasn't stopped old-timey toasters from populating store shelves. And truth be told, modern toasters have evolved into efficient little machines that feature nice designs and simple operation. However, sometimes that is not enough. What was once a ubiquitous kitchen appliance has evolved into something so much more.

The KitchenAid Convection Countertop Oven ($160) replaces the toaster (or even the toaster oven) while remaining compact in size. Measuring 13 inches across, 12.25 inches deep, and 7.5 inches … Read more

If you're one of the 17 percent of American adults who reportedly suffer from some type of hearing loss, listen up: hearing aids--and earphones--may be about to enter a new generation of superior fit and functionality, thanks to molds based on a 3D imaging technique instead of plaster.

Time was, getting fitted for a hearing aid took an hour in a chair with an audiologist, who would fill a patient's ear canals with a silicone substance that hardened into a mold from which the aid would be constructed. The molds are only so detailed, which means the fits … Read more