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Safer alternative to experimental gene therapy against HIV infection

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a surprisingly simple and safe method to disrupt specific genes within cells. The scientists highlighted the medical potential of the new technique by demonstrating its use as a safer alternative to an experimental gene therapy against HIV infection.

2 Jul 2012

New Lancet issue focuses on HIV ahead of AIDS 2012 conference

This week's issue of the Lancet "has an HIV theme ahead of the International AIDS Society meeting in Washington, D.C., ... on July 22-27," a Lancet editorial states, noting, "The issue of antiretrovirals for prevention, specifically pre-exposure prophylaxis, is presently under intense debate."

30 Jun 2012

IAS president will use AIDS 2012 to say 'thank you' to U.S. for contributions to HIV/AIDS battle

Elly Katabira, president of the International AIDS Society and co-chair of the 19th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012), said he will use the conference as an occasion to say "thank you" to the U.S., VOA News reports.

29 Jun 2012

AHF urges Gilead to set initial price on latest HIV/AIDS drug combination

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) announced that California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer has sent a letter to California-based drug company, Gilead Sciences, Inc. urging the company to set an initial price on its latest HIV/AIDS drug combination—which is known as the 'Quad'—that is "…sensitive to ongoing state budget difficulties," and which will also "…provide the means to keep people with HIV/AIDS alive and as healthy as possible."

28 Jun 2012

Efforts to fight illegal drugs contributing to spread of HIV, report says

The Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP) on Tuesday published a report titled "The War on Drugs and HIV/AIDS: How the Criminalization of Drug Use Fuels the Global Pandemic," which "condemns the drug war as a failure and recommends immediate, major reforms of the global drug prohibition regime to halt the spread of HIV infection and other drug war harms," according to the report summary.

28 Jun 2012

Miriam Hospital receives NIH renewal grant to support growth of Lifespan/Tufts/Brown CFAR

The Miriam Hospital has received an $8.5 million, five-year renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the continued growth of the Lifespan/Tufts/Brown Center for AIDS Research (CFAR).

28 Jun 2012

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator reflects on lessons learned from PEPFAR's first decade

In this post in the Department of State's "DipNote" blog, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby reflects on his speech at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday in anticipation of the AIDS 2012 conference scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. from July 22-27.

28 Jun 2012

UNFPA Executive Director calls for international community to put family planning back on 'radar'

UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin on Tuesday told the Associated Press that the world should focus more on family planning issues, stating that "'family planning seems to have fallen off the radar' in the past two decades -- a victim of politics, funding shortages and focus on other priorities such as fighting AIDS," the news service reports.

28 Jun 2012

International AIDS Society, Kaiser Family Foundation partner to offer free comprehensive daily coverage of AIDS 2012

"The International AIDS Society (IAS), custodian of the International AIDS Conference, and the Kaiser Family Foundation will provide free, worldwide online access to the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) taking place in Washington, D.C.," from July 22 to 27, a joint Kaiser/IAS press release reports.

28 Jun 2012

University of Southampton develops new hearing screening test

The University of Southampton has developed a new hearing screening test which could help the estimated 100 million people suffering from hearing loss in China.

28 Jun 2012

Gates Foundation blog highlights work of CDC Kenya

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, editor Amie Newman, a communications officer at the foundation, highlights the work of "two HIV home-visit health workers who work with the CDC Kenya (Centers for Disease Control) to visit with a family in a remote area in the Nyanza province."

27 Jun 2012

USA Today features Q&A on Truvada's potential as prevention tool

USA Today features a Q&A on Truvada, an antiretroviral drug that a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel in May recommended be approved for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV among healthy people at risk of contracting the virus.

27 Jun 2012

Scientists identify novel mechanism behind bacterial pathogenesis

Scientists have identified a new mechanism of bacterial pathogenesis. The results of the research project, partly funded by the Academy of Finland, have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

27 Jun 2012

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator discusses lessons learned from U.S. response to HIV/AIDS worldwide

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby "discussed lessons learned from the U.S. response to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic over the past decade at an event hosted by the Brookings Institute Monday morning," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

27 Jun 2012

Event highlights impact of AIDS on women worldwide

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog summarizes an event held Thursday, titled "AIDS-free Generation? Not Without Women," that was sponsored by the National Council of Women's Organizations. The session aimed "to draw attention to pivotal issues surrounding the impact of AIDS on women worldwide" ahead of the International AIDS Conference, the blog states.

26 Jun 2012

Vatican official calls on international community to provide 'free, efficient' HIV treatment in Africa

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state and number two official, "called Friday on the international community to provide 'free and efficient treatment' for AIDS in Africa, starting with pregnant women, mothers and their babies," Agence France-Presse reports.

26 Jun 2012

Two new tests tend to overestimate vitamin D deficiency

Blood tests to measure vitamin D deficiency are among the most frequently ordered tests in medicine. But a Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study of two new vitamin D tests found the kits are inaccurate in many cases. Earle W. Holmes, PhD, presented findings at ENDO 2012, the 94th Annual Meeting and Expo in Houston.

26 Jun 2012

Beauty N Black Wellness Tour to improve health of African American families

In an effort to improve the health of African American families, the Beauty N Black Wellness Tour will turn beauty salons into centers for health information and screening, starting with a June 30th launch in Los Angeles.

26 Jun 2012

Suicide leading cause of death among young people in India

Suicide has become the second-leading cause of death of young people in India, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, according to an Article published as part of the Lancet Series on suicide.

25 Jun 2012

GlobalPost blog series examines PMTCT program in South Africa

In the third of a series of entries in GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog, titled "A Daughter's Journey," Tracy Jarrett, a GlobalPost/Kaiser Family Foundation global health reporting fellow, visits a USAID-funded HIV clinic at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital outside of Johannesburg, South Africa.

23 Jun 2012