Internet porn causes pay-per-view sales to fall; a new chip will make HIV testing easy, affordable and readily available; meanwhile, mobile phones become more essential than toilets in the developed world. These discoveries and more, below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

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TV Porn Sales Plummet Cable and satellite companies watch pay-per-view revenues fall as consumers turn to the Web.

Can a $1 Plastic Chip Really Diagnose HIV? Diagnosing HIV may have just gotten a lot easier, faster, and cheaper.

Battle of the Mormon Wannabes The two Republicans with the best chance of beating Obama in 2012 happen to be rich, business-friendly, perfectly coiffed cousins from rival Mormon clans. No wonder there’s no love lost between Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney.

How YouTube Wins in the Great Unbundling of Cable TV YouTube wants to be one of several new providers of ‘Premium’ Bundles of Video.

Car Brain Saves Drivers Computerized car systems are doing a better job avoiding common low-speed crashes than human ones.

The hard truth about getting old Sixty isn’t the new 40, and 80 isn’t the new 60. I know it. You know it. So why do we buy into it?

Anders Breivik’s twisted time machine With so much speculation surrounding the issue, what were the real motives behind Breivik’s attacks?

Mobile Subscriptions Outnumber Toilets When it comes to betting the farm on mobile media, the math don’t lie.

Facial recognition identifies your social security number A picture of your face is all it takes for Alessandro Acquisti at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to access a wealth of personal information.

Big Sugar Daddy on Campus Apparently, the latest way for college students to pay for their tuition is to set up an arrangement with a sugar daddy.

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#college#facial recognition#hiv#Larry's List#mitt romney#mormon#pornography#syphilis#youtube