Monthly Archives: May 2007

Oral HIV Test Fast & Effective

Traditional HIV tests have used blood samples, but that has meant discomfort for the people being tested and not particularly easy to setup. Oral tests for HIV have been tested and have received positive feedback, people prefer the oral test than getting poked by a needle.

According to lead author Nitika Pai of the McGill University Health Centre, Canada, the test is simple and quick. Swabs of oral fluid are taken and tested for the presence of antibodies against HIV. “The test kit is all-inclusive. It contains the swab, a stand and test solution. You get the test result in less than 20 minutes,” Pai told SciDev.Net.

The study also found that 66% of those who did a blood test for HIV complained of discomfort, while only 8% of those who submitted to the oral test had complaints.

Greenpeace Influences Apple

Here’s more proof that trying to make a difference does work. Greenpeace, who scolded Apple for not being green, has been effective in getting Apple to change its way.

Steve Jobs, the man behind Apple, has released a statement that Apple is going to be greener.

Apple has been criticized by some environmental organizations for not being a leader in removing toxic chemicals from its new products, and for not aggressively or properly recycling its old products. Upon investigating Apple’s current practices and progress towards these goals, I was surprised to learn that in many cases Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors in these areas. Whatever other improvements we need to make, it is certainly clear that we have failed to communicate the things that we are doing well.

Try Living Without Oil Before You Have To

Peak oil is coming, probably soon than you think. We sort of all know this, but we never really talk about it. What are we going to do when it actually happens? Will we be caught totally unawares?

A new alternate reality game (read: online story-driven community-based game) aims to make people think about this unthinkable topic. World Without Oil is being funded by a number of media companies and being produced by a team of experienced game makers. Their goal? To simulate a global oil shock, applying “collective intelligence” to the problem in advance, and create a record that can help people anticipate the future. The means to accomplish all this is player-contributed blogs, videos, etc.

Tell us your story. Fuel prices are sky high and the ripple effects are pulling at the seams of our society. Everyone’s life has taken a hit – but how much of a hit are you taking? How much pain are you in? No one will know if you don’t add your voice to the collective shout. And who knows? If enough people speak up, maybe the force of collective truth will help prevent this crisis from ever happening again.

For more information, start at the official homepage.