that is fantastic... maybe by 2010 we'll actually be allowed to get our hands on preventive medications that can save women's lives. oh well, at least some (developing) countries are on the right track.

I wonder what is used to kill the virus, and I wonder (most of all) what effects it would have on the extremely fragile vaginal environment. I'm glad that SOMEONE is trying to end the awful AIDS epidemic, but I find it sad that resorting to women putting dangerous chemicals inside themselves is the answer. I hope it works.

While this is great news it's sad that women are at great risk from men who 'don't want to' wear condoms. I've never understood why men have such an aversion to them when you are talking about protecting yourself from diseases (except those who have allergies of course).

On a different note, the catholic church seems to be relaxing it's rules on condom use between married couples where one partner has HIV (see bbc news). I remember having seen documentries where women have become infected by their husbands and have said that it is ok because at least they will go to heaven as they didn't use any condoms. But now it is ok all of a sudden!?!

This is wonderful.

How much you want to bet the religious Right starts attacking it, based on the idea that it's either "unnatural" or "might somehow inhibit conception?"

I wonder if it would be useful on other STIs?

Sylke, it's kind of premature to say that this is a "dangerous chemical" that's being used, when you don't know what it is. In general, I would rather have chemicals in my vagina than HIV.

What is it with feminists and technophobia? Sheesh.

You can find out more about microbicides from The Global Campaign for Microbicides. They're a great organization.

Yup, you're right, I have no idea what is being used to inhibit the uptake of HIV from infected sperm presented to a vagina. What I know is this: the vagina is a symbiotic environment that is guarded by a relatively thin layer of epithelial cells - not much protection from a strong chemical agent, seeing as it must take a strong chemical agent to inhibit the hearty HIV virus.

That said, I truly hope the gel works. I hope women stop dying from this epidemic. My original point was that it is sad to me that we have to resort to concocting vaginal coctails rather than expecting a man to use an (already invented) condom.

Before the final order for numbers for competitors could be placed, three factors had to be decided; colour, size and quantities for respective sports.

It was decided to use black on white, with the exception of the numbers to be used on cycle frames, in which case, on the advice of the photo-finish experts, white figures on a blood-red background were employed as most likely to be readily discernible in photographs. Use of a cut-out number impregnated with a solution by which it could be ironed to the vest was discussed, and the idea abandoned in favour of the conventional number printed on either cotton or plastic, which could be sewn on and taken off.

On the principle that generally the larger the number the better, a 10-inch number which took up almost the whole of the vest was the subject of experiment but proved, although best for identification purposes, too awkward for the competitor. A 7-inch number turned out to be the largest that could be adopted for practical purposes.

It was decided that every sport in which numbering was necessary should have an independent series of numbers. Competitors in each sport were numbered from 1 upwards. Exceptions were made in the case of the relay races, the different teams in which were allotted a common alphabetical identification. Competitors in the marathon and the two walking races were numbered from 1 upwards in the several events.

As firm orders had to be placed several months before the entries were received the general basis of an expectation of 75 per cent. of Helsinki entries was adopted. In a few cases it had to be amended, but generally the estimate was fairly accurate and no great amendment was necessary. An exception was the cycling road race, the entries for which were markedly underestimated and last-minute orders for numbers were required.

Water polo caps in six colours were ordered, but immediately before the beginning of the championships the Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur objected to the use of more than two colours—plain white and plain black. These were accordingly procured and teams exchanged caps between matches. For rowing, no numbers had been ordered until the last moment when it was deemed advisable to number the boats to identify the lanes. Sixty sets of one to four were then ordered for the boats. The rowing course crossed the centre of a lake and without identification, it was difficult at the distance to decide which lane a boat occupied.