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Teen sex, STDs, and the CDC

Yep, you read that right, there apparently is a recent report from the CDC that indicates one in four teen aged girls have an STD:

CHICAGO - Startling government research on teenage girls and sexually transmitted diseases sends a blunt message to kids who think they’re immune: It’s liable to happen to you or someone you know.

In the first study of its kind, researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found at least one in 4 teenage American girls has a sexually transmitted disease.

The most common one is a virus that can cause cervical cancer, and the second most common can cause infertility. Nearly half the black teens in the study had at least one sexually transmitted infection, versus 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-American teens.

(From an MSNBC news item on that report)

As the father of a 13-year-old, I find that pretty scary. According to the study (a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2003-2004), of female adolescents surveyed, over half of whom reported ever having sex (for some that is vaginal intercourse, while for others it is intimate behavior including oral sex, which can also spread some infections). Even more startling are the numbers themselves, apparently of African American girls 48% had an STI, while 20% of white girls, were infected.

These are some very disturbing numbers. Still, what is perhaps even more disturbing is politicians and religious leaders who want to abolish (and have abolished) sex-ed programs and insist on relying only on Abstinence programs.

Here is what Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show had to say on all of this…

Sure, sure, he obviously goes for the joke here, but, given the ignorance that abounds, what more can we do?

The Perfessor

P.S.: No really, has anyone seen Walt?

Green Sex!

No, I’m not talking about doing the nasty with the Hulk (although this guy is), I’m talking about sex that is environmentally friendly (hey, personally, I thought that all sex was pretty friendly, but then again, that could just be me).

No, seriously. I’m talking about a website that (apparently) seriously discusses Green Sex. Now, I wasn’t looking for “racy” sites (well, I wasn’t when I stumbled across this page), but I was so entertained when I found it (and with Walt still being held hostage by South Moluccans) I felt it important to post it here.

To be sure, this wasn’t as dirty as you might think, but it was quite fun, and there were a couple of suggestions that I really enjoyed. these included the following:

8. Sex your headaches away

Looking for a natural way to kill that piercing migraine? A recent study involving 84 women shows that there’s a natural cure for headache sufferers, and it’s roughly effective as taking today’s leading medications — sex. This may come as bad news for those of you who like to use headaches as an excuse to avoid a roll in the hay, but 61% of women in the study reported some kind of relief — compared to 60-80% reporting the same relief with the latest migraine drugs. [RELATED: CHECK OUT OUR GREEN SEX GUIDE]

Yeah, and we totally know how well THAT is going to go over, eh?

9. Clean your bedroom

Decluttering your home is reclaiming intimacy. Once the decluttering process is complete, soft lighting and a simple coat of paint offer an intimate atmosphere sure to inspire romance. [RELATED: CHECK OUT OUR GREEN SEX GUIDE]

Another fine idea, I’m sure.

Still there there were also suggestions for Eco-friendly lingerie, Fairtrade condoms, and an Organic way for men to (ahem) “stand at attention.” Then there was the article about former Hollywood madam, Heidi Fleiss opening up an eco-friendly brothel. Still, Still, one of my favorite bits was the item that talked about the environmental impact of all those discarded latex condoms. This article seemed to indicate that there is a better way to go, and that is (no, I’m not kidding) inserting a microchip into your penis.

7. Put a microchip in your penis

If you’ve ever worried about the environmental impact of all those discarded latex condoms, this might be the super-futuristic invention for you! Australian scientists have apparently figured out how to insert a microchip in the vas deferens (that’s the part of the male equipment that delivers semen), and when the man is about to have sex, he can press “pause” on a device that sends RF waves to his intimate microchip. The chip translates the waves into acoustic waves, which then cause the chip to expand, blocking sperm from passing through the vas deferens. [RELATED: CHECK OUT OUR GREEN SEX GUIDE]

Although this last one doesn’t seem to address the issue of STIs, where the “pause” button would be placed, and what happens when the guy gets too distracted (excited) to remember to, ah, flick the switch.

Still, who says you can’t have good, clean, sexy fun on the web? So stay sexy and go green.

Heh, this will teach Walt to go walkabout and leave me in charge…when the cat’s away and all that.

The Perfessor

Growing oil, one drop at a time

I can’t verify this guys’ numbers on Algae-to-Fuel, but if I had the investment money, this is where I’d be placing it.

Click to play movie
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This one is for Walt

This morning I found this link over at Digg and figured that our resident sicnce and geologist geek, Walt, would love this, so I IMed him with the link, then I figured that everyone would want in, and figured that I’d post it as well.

What we are looking at is a high definition picture of the surface of Mars:

This breathtaking 3D landscape was constructed with high definition images taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA’s Mars Express orbiter. The new observations show Hebes Chasma, a strange mountain region nested inside the canyon, with channel-like fingers reaching out into the Martian landscape. The imaged region shows features down to a resolution of 15 meters per pixel, an awe-inspiring view… in stereo!

(via: Universe Today)

More photos and story.

The Perfessor

Why physicists don’t watch a warming pot of water[vid]

This is a fun physics video, animated for clarity. Technically, it’s about Quantum Physics. It’s something that most people who study physics already know, but if you phrase it in just the right way, it also seems like God is standing by as the result changes depending of if you’re watching or not.

What’s on the video? Just shooting marbles. No math required. The fun question is at the end.

The question is “How?”

Well, it could also be, “Why?”