Jockstrip: The world as we know it

THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine doesn't understand why malls and shopping centers that offer Victoria's Secret outlets and theaters that show movies loaded with sex are rejecting its public service campaign on infertility prevention.

Shopping malls in Houston, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., as well as AMC, Century and Lowes theaters have refused to display the announcements on the grounds they are not family friendly or entertaining.

In its second year, the "Protect Your Fertility!" campaign targets men and women in their 20s and early 30s and talks about the impact of decisions they make on fertility later in life. The campaign focuses on risk factors such as smoking, sexually transmitted infections, unhealthy body weight and advancing age.

The PSAs, which feature baby bottles being used in unconventional ways, are designed to be provocative to catch the attention of those unaccustomed to thinking about fertility, the society says.

NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS

Babies raised with two or more dogs or cats in the house may be less likely to develop allergies later in life.

The study by Medical College of Georgia researchers, which compared children raised without pets to those who had furry friends during the first year of life, is found in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Experts say what's striking is that high pet exposure appears to protect children not only from pet allergies but also from other allergens -- dust mites, ragweed, grass.

Author Dr. Dennis R. Ownby says bacteria carried by pets, endotoxins, had been thought to shift the developing immune system away from responding to allergens through a class of lymphocytes called Th-2 cells, which are associated with allergic reactions. Instead, they now believe endotoxins stimulate the immune system to activate Th-1 cells, which may block allergic reactions.

TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING

The bomb-sniffing dogs got the special photo ID tags U.S. Open security officials in New York insisted upon, but the New York Police Department was not allowed inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to patrol during the tennis matches.

The New York Post says for three days New York's finest were barred entry. It ended Monday after the media began asking why the elite group of anti-terror police from the Intelligence Division were cooling their heels outside the arena.

"We told them we were going in and they folded very quickly," a top police official told the Post. "There was no way they were going to keep us out."

The cops had been shown the door during matches because they were wearing traditional suits and ear pieces connected to radios that U.S. Open officials said might make the crowd feel uncomfortable.

AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY

Forget summer vacation, these kids came to help. The Web site for What Kids Can Do Inc., a non-profit group that looks at how adolescents work and learn, has posted some dynamite projects teens participated in this summer.

In Oregon, teams of teenagers lugged heavy equipment to the top of a volcano, to help scientists predict earthquakes. In Hartford, Conn., young people set out with mobile scanners to map all their city's abandoned houses, vacant lots, litter and graffiti.

Idaho kids poured sidewalks, Bronx teens tested the safety of doors, locks and intercoms in their public housing. Mississippi students built computers to outfit every classroom in their state.

Florida teens restored historic sites, trails and boardwalks. Washington teenagers educated peers to act against sexual harassment. Disadvantaged Columbus, Ohio, teens worked in university science labs. Santa Fe, N.M., students created a park watered only by natural sources.