Engineers have created a compact, handheld device that plugs into an iPhone and turns it into a mobile laboratory that can diagnose HIV and syphilis in just 15 minutes. “This kind of capability can transform how health care services are delivered around the world,” study leader Samuel K. Sia, a biomedical engineer at Columbia, said in a statement. Read More
Debates at Davos Get Around to Gay Rights
Editorial: Tim Cook and the Way Ahead
Google+ Now Lets You Define Your Gender
Following on the heels of social networking sites like Facebook and OKCupid, users of Google+ will soon be able to set their own gender, reports TechCrunch.
Among a cascade of updates rolled out on Tuesday, the tech giant announced it will let users list their gender as more than just “Male” or “Female. In fact, according to Google software engineer Rachael Bennett’s post, Google+ users will now have access to an “infinite number of ways to express your gender identity.” Read More
Digital security tools and Tactics for the LGBTI community in Sub-Saharan Africa
In recent years, LGBTI persons have indeed become more visible and active in the public sphere. Nonetheless, the State and society all too often force them back “into the closet” with threats of ostracization, harassment, physical violence and even death. The Internet has emerged as a viable option for LGBTI persons to gain visibility, communicate, network, and express what one cannot express in public. Read More
Philippines: Closure of gay bars “to end AIDS” looms in Baguio
Health officials asked the city government on Wednesday to close down gay bars to prevent the spread of the dreaded disease AIDS, which showed an upsurge in the past several months. Dra. Celiaflor Brillantes, head of the social hygiene clinic, said 80 percent of the 60 AIDS cases in the city have been traced to men having sex with men and returning overseas workers, who got infected abroad.
“We have to close down the gay bars and strictly regulate the operation of nightspots in order to prevent the further increase of individuals contracting the dreaded disease,” Brillantes said. Read More
Gay dating app helps spread AIDS awareness in China
A gay dating app in China has received a $30m investment as it becomes increasingly popular among the homosexual community, with 15 million users to date.
In a country where homosexuality has been a taboo subject and authorities often restrict lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender (LGBT) groups, the Blued dating app has become hugely popularity without any restrictions.
In fact, some Chinese officials welcome the app because it is proving a useful tool in spreading information about AIDS prevention. Read More
Google Play takes down homophobic game that had 10K downloads
Google is being criticized after hosting a homophobic app on their Google Play store.
The app, named "Ass Hunter," allowed players to shoot naked gay men that randomly appeared running across the phone's screen.
"This developer is despicable. I cannot comprehend how someone could create a 'game' so willfully ignorant, hateful, vile and violent," said Marcus Hamilton in a review left on the Google Play store. Read more
The Economic Case for Supporting LGBT Rights
What’s the secret to convincing the world to back a movement? Figure out how it could impact the global bottom line. Economic reasoning is part of what propelled the modern women’s empowerment movement.
And now, it’s informing an emerging argument for LGBT inclusion. Discriminatory laws hinder the size of the workforce, employees' mental health, and international tourism. How could they not impact a country's GDP? Read More
Study: Pro-LGBT laws spur global economic growth
A study from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Williams Institute suggests pro-LGBT laws can spur economic growth in developing countries.
The study used the Global Index on Legal Recognition of Homosexual Orientation, a Dutch research tool from the 1960s that ranks countries on whether they have decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults and seven other factors in relation to rights for gays and lesbians. Researchers also relied upon a preliminary transgender rights index that ranks countries on anti-discrimination laws and 15 other measures.
The Global Index on Legal Recognition of Homosexual Orientation ranks countries on a scale from zero to eight. And researchers concluded that a country’s gross domestic product was $320 — or three percent higher — for each point it gained on the index. Read More
Steve Jobs memorial torn down in Russia after current Apple CEO Tim Cook comes out as gay
A Russian group of companies ordered the destruction of a memorial tribute to late Apple founder Steve Jobs after the technology giant’s current CEO, Tim Cook, came out as gay last week.
ZEFS, which originally had the six-foot monument in the shape of an iPhone erected outside a college in St Petersburg in January to pay homage to the achievements of Jobs following his death from cancer in 2011, has since taken the decision to dismantle it: “After Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly called for sodomy, the monument was taken down to abide to the Russian federal law protecting children from information promoting denial of traditional family values.” Read More
HSBC UK: Business leaders have ‘huge personal responsibility’ to come out
The head of UK banking at HSBC has criticised business leaders who stay in the closet, saying it’s not acceptable they “take for granted” the work being done by others on issues of equality.
Speaking at the third-annual ‘Out on the Street’ LGBT summit in London, Antonio Simoes, who revealed he was gay last year, said business leaders have a “huge personal responsibility” to come out. At the conference, Simoes also described himself as “the short, bald, Portuguese gay guy”, adding that being “authentic” makes him a “more empathetic and better leader.” Read More