hiv aids
Feet first? Old mitochondria might be responsible for neuropathy in the extremities
The burning, tingling pain of neuropathy may affect feet and hands before other body parts because the powerhouses of nerve cells that supply the extremities age and become dysfunctional as they complete the long journey to these areas, Johns Hopkin…
Am I safe here?: How people with HIV/AIDS perceive hidden prejudices in their communities
People in marginalized groups, such as the disabled or racial minorities, feel stigmatized — condemned, feared, or excluded — when other people stigmatize them. That’s obvious. But they can also feel stigma when nobody blatantly discriminates agai…
University of Minnesota discovery suggests a new way to prevent HIV from infecting human cells
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered how HIV binds to and destroys a specific human antiviral protein called APOBEC3F. The results suggest that a simple chemical change can convert APOBEC3F to a more effective antiviral agent a…
New survey device gets better information on teenage sexual behavior
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown University sociologists have developed a device to gather more reliable data about risky sexual behavior among Ethiopian teenagers and young adults than conventional face-to-face interviews can produc…
AIDS in India could become as dire as in Africa
The epidemic of HIV/AIDS in India is following the same pattern as that of sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s, and it could become just as devastating unless preventive action is taken now, according to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, in a paper to be published Saturday (June 21) in the British Medical Journal. “In hindsight, opportunities were missed to stem the explosive growth of AIDS in Africa,” says Dr. Malcolm Potts, professor of population and family planning at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health and lead author of the paper. “It would be a tragedy if we don’t apply the lessons learned from the failure to control the spread of HIV in Africa to the current situation in India. It is very painful to watch history repeating itself.”
North, Central America could face Africa-like AIDS spread
The social behavior of sex workers and transportation workers along the U.S. ? Mexico border has the potential to spread HIV and AIDS through North and Central America in much the same way the disease has spread through sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new University of Houston study. “The main thrust of the study focuses on the potential this social mechanism could play in the spread of AIDS as the virus gets into those populations of truck drivers,” said the study’s lead researcher. “Keep in mind that this is how the virus is believed to have spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa, as transportation workers moved through border regions.”
Scientists Decipher Genetic Code of Malaria Parasite
FROM THE TRENCHES: A consortium of scientists announced that it has deciphered the genetic code of the parasite that causes the deadliest form of Malaria, an illness that kills more than a million people a year in developing nations.