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$Physical exercise in early 20's aids bone growth, reduces risk of fractures$

Physical exercise in early 20's aids bone growth, reduces risk of fractures

Physical exercise in the early twenties improves bone development and may reduce the risk of fractures later in life, reveals a study of more than 800 Swedish men carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

14 Feb 2012

Obama's budget demonstrates his strong commitment to end HIV

"The budget President Obama outlined today yet again demonstrates his strong commitment to ending HIV by increasing funding for prevention and lifesaving care and treatment for those who cannot afford it in the United States," commented Carl Schmid, Deputy Executive Director of The AIDS Institute.

13 Feb 2012

Scientists test new 'therapeutic vaccine' against HIV on volunteers

Scientists from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp University Hospital and Antwerp University have tested a new 'therapeutic vaccine' against HIV on volunteers. The participants were so to say vaccinated with their own cells.

13 Feb 2012

Starving HIV virus could be the basis for future therapy: Study

In a medical breakthrough researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and colleagues have shown how some cells in the body can repel attacks from HIV by starving the virus of the building blocks of life.

13 Feb 2012

Tenofovir associated with significant risk of kidney damage and chronic kidney disease

Tenofovir, one of the most effective and commonly prescribed antiretroviral medications for HIV/AIDS, is associated with a significant risk of kidney damage and chronic kidney disease that increases over time, according to a study of more than 10,000 patients led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

13 Feb 2012

Elton John AIDS Foundation awards over $3.2 million in new grants

The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) today announced over $3.2 million in new grants that will further its mission to assist the most marginalized populations vulnerable to HIV infection. These new awards brought EJAF's final total grant-making commitments for calendar 2011 to a record $8,316,871, with disbursements totaling $7,006,871 last year.

13 Feb 2012

Sexuality changes throughout life but US policy and research fail to keep up

Americans will spend more than $17 billion on Valentine's Day, but far less on programs like sex education for adolescents. The editors of the new book, Sex for Life, From Virginity to Viagra, How Sexuality Changes Throughout Our Lives, argue that not only do our public policies on sex education need to be reevaluated, our entire concept of human sexuality needs to be broadened.

13 Feb 2012

BIO President issues statement on FDA guidance for biosimilars

Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood issued the following statement regarding the newly released U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance for the review and approval of biosimilars.

13 Feb 2012

Recognizing Global Fund's integration of reproductive health into focus on AIDS, TB, malaria

Noting the successes of the first 10 years of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as the funding challenges it faces moving forward, Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, vice president of advocacy at Population Action International, writes in an opinion piece in GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog that the Fund "has always upheld the idea that their work contributes to achievement of all of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)" and "always accepted and considered proposals that include reproductive, maternal, and child health interventions, when countries could demonstrate that they would have an impact on AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria."

13 Feb 2012

Organ transplant patients can benefit from cochlear implants

Cochlear implants may be a safe, effective option for some organ transplant patients who've lost their hearing as an unfortunate consequence of their transplant-related drug regime, researchers report.

13 Feb 2012

Proposed intellectual property agreement between E.U., India could affect generic drug exports, advocacy groups say

The Independent examines how "the cheap supply of antiretroviral drugs to people with AIDS across the world could be choked by an 'intellectual property' deal ... being negotiated on Friday at the 12th E.U.-India summit in New Delhi between the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh."

13 Feb 2012

Donor fatigue, funding cutbacks could mean another 50 years of AIDS epidemic, UNAIDS deputy executive director says

"With enough money spent in the right way, the world could soon reduce new HIV infections to zero, but global apathy and the financial crisis mean it might take another 50 years to stop the AIDS epidemic, a U.N. expert has said," AlertNet reports.

13 Feb 2012

Study reveals how SAMHD1 works to protect dendritic cells from HIV virus

A novel discovery by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and colleagues reveals a mechanism by which the immune system tries to halt the spread of HIV. Harnessing this mechanism may open up new paths for therapeutic research aimed at slowing the virus' progression to AIDS. The study appears online ahead of print today in Nature Immunology.

12 Feb 2012

Scientists discover ferocity of immune system after viral infection

A scientific team led by researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Charité Berlin Medical University has made a completely unprecedented discovery showing how much our immune system is provoked into action when confronted by viral intruders.

10 Feb 2012

Web-based tool suite helps first responders rapidly coordinate resources during disasters

A Web-based tool suite that helps first responders rapidly coordinate resources during disasters, co-sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), is being introduced at a University of Connecticut panel Feb. 8-11 as part of a month-long rollout.

10 Feb 2012

Health status of indigenous populations across Asia unknown, putting them at risk, experts say

"The health of millions of indigenous people across Asia is at risk, experts say, as lack of recognition of their legal status hinders data collection, making their medical problems invisible in most national health surveys," IRIN reports.

10 Feb 2012

Important to include men in HIV prevention, treatment programs

While a focus on HIV prevention and treatment among women and children has reduced infection rates among these populations, "men have received considerably less attention in the epidemic and receive less targeted HIV prevention and treatment programs," Edward Mills of the University of Ottawa and colleagues write in a PLoS Medicine essay, adding "Targeting men in prevention and treatment ... may have a large impact on mortality, new infections, and the economic impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa."

9 Feb 2012

India's ownership over polio eradication program contributed to success

"The key to India's success" in going a full year without recording a case of polio "was to take ownership of the problem and the solution, allowing for locals to learn from the expertise of the international community while not becoming dependent" on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international donors, William Thomson, a research assistant at the U.S. Naval War College, writes in The Diplomat's "India Decade."

9 Feb 2012

NewsOne examines HIV in Caribbean

NewsOne examines HIV in the Caribbean, where one percent of the population is infected with the virus, "small in comparison to numbers found in the global scheme but significant enough to distinguish it as the second-highest region with HIV/AIDS outside of sub-Saharan Africa."

9 Feb 2012

Study implicates 'arms race' between genes and germs

Biologists have found new evidence of why mice, people and other vertebrate animals carry thousands of varieties of genes to make immune-system proteins named MHCs--even though some of those genes make vertebrate animals susceptible to infections and to autoimmune diseases.

9 Feb 2012