Kamiar Alaei, University at Albany, State University of New York
Brothers, Kamiar and Arash Alaei were imprisoned in Iran in 2008 for their work with HIV. Under a new government, Iran’s health minister, Hassan Hashemi, has blamed “misinformation and unscientific claims…
Why should women not be in charge of their own contraception if it’s safe for them to do so?
anoldent/Flickr
Women using the contraceptive pill currently require a prescription from a doctor and to return once a year to renew it. But recent research suggests the relative safety of this oral contraceptive means…
Most young people expect to engage in a number of risky activities at schoolies.
Image from shutterstock.com
After finishing year 12, more than 50,000 young Australians attend schoolies celebrations, with most ending up on the Gold Coast. Other schoolies (or “leavers”, as they’re known in Western Australia) head…
British sexual attitudes have come a long way from the prudish caricature but despite people losing their virginity earlier and the number of older people who are sexually active increasing, we’re having…
The writing was on the wall for some in city licensing review.
Andy Bell
Scottish police were forced to issue a statement that they did “not advocate the banning of condoms” after a BBC report, which ran under the headline “Police ask for condom ban in Edinburgh saunas”, said…
Mandatory condom use is a contested issue in the US porn industry.
ClevelandSGS/Flickr
Last week, the Adult Video News (AVN) Media Network opened pre-nominations for the 2014 AVN Awards, known as the “Oscars of Adult”, and announced the inclusion of two new categories: the best safe sex…
‘Hug a hoodie’ as David Cameron would say.
ssoosay
Ann Hagell, Association for Young People's Health and John Coleman, University of Oxford
Smoking, drinking and hanging around street corners is a common characterisation of a bored, unhealthy, unemployed youth. Life is getting worse for young people, we’re often led to believe, but what do…
Out and about. But HIV is rife in Bangkok and more men need to break the silence.
CharlesFred
It has been 10 years since the first evidence emerged of what was until then a completely hidden HIV epidemic among men who have sex with men in Bangkok, Thailand. The term includes all men who engage…
Harder times ahead for Pfizer as Viagra patents end.
Flickr/kosare
Those for whom Viagra is indispensable might be a little surprised that the ubiquitous blue, diamond-shaped pill was a chance discovery by a group of research pharmaceutical chemists at Pfizer’s research…
Prisoners are having sex whether we like it or not and a lack of condoms affects us all.
PA/Barry Batchelor
The idea of prisoners having sex upsets people; it offends our sense that prison is a place of punishment not pleasure. But sex still happens, maybe more than we like to think. And if it is happening…
An estimated 5.2% of cancers worldwide are caused by the human papilloma virus.
Image from shutterstock.com
Oral sex is often the first of many forays into sexual intimacy we experience as fumbling teenagers. And for many couples, it remains an important – and enjoyable – part of their sexual repertoire. But…
Women whose partners accepted their bodily changes after cancer are more likely to feel positive and sexy.
Christophe Karaba/EPA
Angelina Jolie has attracted much attention for revealing her recent experience of a double mastectomy. But her personal attractiveness draws attention to a neglected aspect of cancer treatment and survival…
Up to 80% of people who contract herpes remain completely asymptomatic.
Image from shutterstock.com
When it comes to sexual health, the virus that causes those tingling blisters and angry sores of genital herpes is often the most reviled and feared. Most cases of genital herpes in humans are caused by…
Some people need assistance and support to express their sexuality in satisfying ways.
Image from shutterstock.com
Sexual expression is a fundamental part of being human, with most of us able to choose our sexual partners and, to varying degrees, meet our intimacy needs and desires. While not all people with disabilities…
Strict regulation of children’s sexual knowledge can increase prejudice about differences.
Kim Cofino
In the fields of gender, sexuality, and sexual health research, it’s a no-brainer that sex education should start early, and that sex should be discussed often – both in schools and at home. But instead…
IUDs are safe for young fertile women but remain unpopular in Australia.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scatto_felino
IUDs are a safe and highly effective form of contraception but misinformation continues to make them an unpopular choice for women and doctors, Australian research has found. An Intra Uterine Device is…
Spermatorrhoea was said to be ‘the most dire, excruciating and deadly maladies to which the human frame is subject.’
Guillaume Duchenne
MEDICAL HISTORIES - The second instalment in our short series examines how the spermatorrhoea epidemic changed the scope of medicine. Every period arguably invents its own illnesses, medical disorders…
Starting a conversation about sex early in a child’s education is important.
Image from www.shutterstock.com
When should sex education begin for children? According to some parent groups who advised the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), not until grades 5 and 6. Under this pressure…
It’s perfectly normal for men to have an occasional problem gaining or sustaining an erection. But for some men, these difficulties are frequent and severe, making penetration impossible. This condition…
Professor of Media and Communication and Associate Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making + Society, Swinburne University of Technology
Director, SPHERE NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health in Primary Care and Professor and Head of the Department of General Practice, Monash University