Peru: report on links between unsafe sex and public 'net cafes Health researchers in Peru have produced a report that explores the sociological links between public internet cafes (cabinas públicas) and unsafe sex -- in particular, anonymous male/male encounters that take place inside the cafes, sometimes arranged online. Snip from the Public Library of Science announcement: One recent survey, for example, found that a small number of men--10 out of 1,112 in the survey--reported having had their last sexual intercourse inside a private module of an Internet cafe. Nine out of the ten had anal sex (only four used a condom), and one out of the ten had oral sex without a condom. Of those who had anal sex, four out of nine had a casual partner, three out of nine an anonymous partner, and two out of nine a stable partner. All last sexual partners were males and all had met on the Internet. "Given the possible association between HIV/sexually transmitted infection transmission and the high level of Internet use by men who have sex with men in Peru," say the authors, "cabinas públicas are a logical place to deliver Web-based interventions." "Cabinas also may be an effective means for delivering low-cost prevention messages to a great number of people, especially those who are not being reached using more traditional methods." FAIR Use Act: copyright reform bill introduced in House Derek Slater from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) says, Reps. Rick Boucher and John Doolittle's FAIR Use Act [PDF] would remove some of the entertainment industry's most draconian anti-innovation weapons and chip away at the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) broad restrictions on fair use. Take action now and tell Congress to help restore balance in copyright now. Technology companies play a game of Russian roulette whenever they create products with both infringing and non-infringing uses. Current "secondary liability" standards don't provide enough certainty, and if innovators guess wrong, they can be hit with statutory damages as high as $30,000 per work infringed. When it comes to mass-market products like the iPod or TiVo, damages could run into the trillions of dollars -- more than enough to bankrupt anyone from the smallest start-ups to the biggest companies. Unlike in other areas, the private assets of corporate officers, directors and investors are not shielded from liability in copyright cases. The FAIR USE Act would eliminate statutory damages for secondary liability and allow innovators to make more reasonable business decisions about manageable levels of legal risk. Meanwhile, copyright owners could still get injunctions and actual damages for harm suffered, putting them in no worse a position than civil litigants in most other areas. Biodiesel from liposuctioned human ass-fat powers race boat Here's some video from a Current TV segment about a biodiesel boat race to circumnavigate the globe. The boat featured in the video runs on a mixture of fuel from various sources -- 4 gallons of the stuff was produced from liposuctioned butt blubber (a hundred grams of that came from the captain's own backside). Welp, there's a renewable fuel source America has plenty of. Here's a blog post with more info. - http://www.current.tv/studio/media/23072562?cpg=vmmA&video=Earthrace Tooth as drug delivery device Researchers are developing a dental implant that automatically spews precise amounts of time-released drugs for individuals with diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases. Devised by the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Technologies, the Intellidrug implant contains a drug reservoir, valve, sensors and actuators yet fits inside two faux molars. A wireless transmitter lets the patient know when the teeth need a refill. The dosage can also be remotely adjusted. The first clinical trials will begin soon, using a medication to help drug addicts kick addiction. From The Engineer: 'It is important for some conditions that there is a constant level of drug in the blood plasma,' said (researcher Thomas) Velten. 'Also, for people at risk from heart attacks, these attacks commonly take place very early in the morning when the patient is asleep and cannot self-medicate. With this system we can time the dosage to take place — even when the patient is sleeping...' Once the device is fitted, saliva in the mouth enters the reservoir via a membrane and dissolves the solid drug, forming a solution. When the system is triggered, a valve opens and allows a controlled amount of this saturated solution to flow into the mouth where it is then absorbed by the mucous membranes in the patient's cheeks.