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Posted: 04 October 2011 PARIS: Women who use hormonal birth control are roughly twice as likely to become infected with HIV or pass on the AIDS virus to their partner, according to a study published on Tuesday. The research was carried out among 3,790 heterosexual couples in Africa where one partner had the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while the other was uninfected. The findings, if confirmed, could have huge repercussions for policies on contraception and HIV prevention. The authors say it strengthens the need for safe-sex messages, in which the condom is promoted as a shield against the AIDS pathogen. The couples were monitored for an average of 18 months during which 167 individuals became infected, 73 of them women, according to the paper appearing in The Lancet Infectious Diseases . Transcribed into a benchmark of prevalence, HIV transmissions were 6.61 per 100 person-years in couples where women used hormonal contraception, compared to 3.78 per 100 person-...

From Focus on the Family Some years ago, my family and I visited the magnificent wild animal preserve known as the Serengeti in Tanzania . It had rained all day and we eventually came to a stretch of road that was almost impassable. At that point, our 17-year-old son, Ryan, volunteered to help. “I’ll run ahead and look at the road,” he said, “and then I’ll wave to let you know which way to go.” Well, the guide who was with us said: “Mmmm, Ryan, I don’t think that’s a very good idea. You just don’t know what might be out there in the tall grass .” Further on, we saw a huge male lion crouched in the grass off to one side. I have thought about that experience many times in reference to today’s children. It is a tough time to grow up. Passage through adolescence can be a perilous journey because of the predators lurking in the grass. Too many teenagers succumb to alcohol , drugs, suicide and violence. It is our responsibility as parents to stay close to them on the muddy ...

by Dr James Dobson I remember a bank advertisement that encouraged people to borrow, asking the question : “What do you need to make you happy?” How foolish, I thought, to believe that a new car, a boat or even a house can bring lasting bliss. Materialism is a disease that infects the human family — and it’s not a problem only in affluent cultures. Author and financial counsellor Ron Blue tells of visiting a small, rural village in Africa . Ron asked a villager what was the biggest problem facing his community. The man said: “Materialism.” Ron was taken aback. He expected it to be the lack of food or medical help, or perhaps problems with neighbouring villages. But materialism? These villagers didn’t have televisions or cars or cable TV — the sorts of things we associate with “the good life”. But this villager told Ron: “If a man has a mud hut , he wants one made out of cow manure. If he has a cow manure hut, he wants a stone hut. If he has a thatched roof , he wants a tin...

By Dr James Dobson There is, in the world of nature, a phenomenon known as the “Adversity Principle” which means that difficulties and hard times can actually be more beneficial to plants and animals than continual easy living. As strange as it seems, habitual well-being can be disadvantageous to a species . Think about the big male lion lying in a cage at the zoo . All his needs are met, and his hunting skills are useless. Meanwhile, the lion roaming free on the plains of Africa , stalking and competing for his next meal, remains fit and strong by the challenges and dangers he faces. This principle is seen throughout nature, where the necessity to adapt and struggle, if it doesn’t result in death and extinction , tends to produce a tougher species with a better hold on life. Could it also be that adversity is beneficial to human beings , as well? Within limits, that seems to be the case. Although we complain and squirm when it comes our way, our first response to trouble is to say,...

English: Knowlege Spiral (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) We've reached the age of information overload . Back then, many, many years ago, there is very little knowlege of anything and everything in the planet. People across the globe would learn the same thing, know the same idea, process the same information. There is universality of knowlege. That was then. Now it is completely different. There is so much knowlege learned, so many discoveries, so much information, that there already exists what we would aptly call "an information overload". There was a time when 'general information' was really general, even across the globe. It is not anymore. Even general information is so broad, that in one area or another, you don't know a lot of things. There is good and bad to what we do, or have, one way or the other. In a recent ODB devotional, it was pointed out that one man's dream of 'rebuilding the library of Alexandria ' is already coming true, t...