Tag Archives: science

The mayor of Moscow has vowed to spend millions on cloud-seeding technology to ensure that this winter’s storms drop the bulk of their snow outside of city limits. For just a few million dollars, the mayor’s office will hire the Russian Air Force to spray a fine chemical mist over the clouds before they reach the capital, forcing them to …

The Advocate has published an excellent and extensive article by Steven W. Thrasher about the FDA’s decades-old ban on gay men donating blood. An excerpt: Today, three years after the American Red Cross, the American Association of Blood Banks, and America’s Blood Centers blasted the policy as “scientifically and medically unwarranted,” congressional representatives have ramped up pressure on the FDA …

A new poll by the Associated Press reveals that over one-third of the nation’s parents don’t want their kids immunized against the swine flu, despite reassurances from the government that the vaccine is safe. Some parents say they are concerned about side effects from the new vaccine — even though nothing serious has turned up in tests so far — …

The Covalent Immunology Foundation, who last week held a Manhattan event to promote their vaccine research, has rounded up some bold-face names to support their EndHIV.com site, which asks viewers for a $5 to help their cause. Actors, performers, comedians, HIV activists, and scientists come together to show support for Covalent Immunology, and Dr. Sudhir Paul. The Cast includes Lady …

Scientists in Thailand are reportedly “surprised” by their finding that an AIDS vaccine actually appears to work, reducing the risk of infection by 31%. For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the AIDS virus, a watershed event in the deadly epidemic and a surprising result. Recent failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might …

The Guardian UK has picked up on a 2004 study into how hair whorls on men may predict sexual orientation. Old news, to be sure, but still fascinating. It seems that about four times as many gay men have a counter-clockwise whorl as the general public. (I’m sure a lot of British moms ran to check their boys’ heads after …

More encouraging news on the HIV/AIDS front. After 15 years of futile searching for a vaccine against the AIDS virus, researchers are reporting the tantalizing discovery of antibodies that can prevent the virus from multiplying in the body and producing severe disease. They do not have a vaccine yet, but they may well have a road map toward the production …

The long running controversy over whether cell phones cause brain tumors has been ratcheted up by a group of scientists who point to significant flaws in a recent study funded by…hello…cell phone providers. This report, sent to government leaders and media today, details eleven design flaws of the 13-country, Telecom-funded Interphone study. The Interphone study, begun in 1999, was intended …

A new report forecasts that up to 90,000 Americans could die of H1N1 virus during the coming flu season. But keep in mind that 36,000 die of the regular flu every year.

A just-released report from the Centers for Disease Control says that gay and bisexual men contract HIV/AIDS at a rate fifty times higher than the general population. To my knowledge, the CDC has not previously made such a comparison, instead relying on the raw data of confirmed cases. CDC official Dr. Amy Lansky announced today at a plenary session of …

The Centers for Disease Control is considering recommending that newborn boys in the U.S. be circumcised to reduce their risk of contracting HIV. The topic is a delicate one that has already generated controversy, even though a formal draft of the proposed recommendations, due out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by the end of the year, has …

Researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill report that they have successfully decoded the entire HIV genome, a breakthrough that may lead to new antiviral therapy. “We are beginning to understand tricks the genome uses to help the virus escape detection by the human host,” said Kevin Weeks, a professor at the University of North Carolina at …

Towleroad points out an interesting story about why mosquitoes prefer some folks over others. It turns out only about 10% of humans are “highly attractive” to skeeters. “People with high concentrations of steroids or cholesterol on their skin surface attract mosquitoes,” Butler tells WebMD. That doesn’t necessarily mean that mosquitoes prey on people with higher overall levels of cholesterol, Butler …

Researchers have identified a new strain of HIV in a woman from Cameroon. Previously only three strains of HIV had been thought to exist. A new strain of the virus that causes AIDS has been discovered in a woman from the African nation of Cameroon. It differs from the three known strains of human immunodeficiency virus and appears to be …

Urban legend says the green M&Ms make you horny, but there’s something in the blue ones that really might prove useful. The food dye that gives blue M&M’s their colour can help mend spinal injuries, researchers say. The compound Brilliant Blue G blocks a chemical that kills healthy spinal cord cells around the damaged area – an event that often …

Researchers believe they have found an important missing link in the study of simian AIDS, a discovery with implications for human research. Up until now, scientists had believed that the 40+ known strains of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) did not make the animals ill. But two colonies of chimpanzees infected with a particular strain of SIV have been found to …

Researchers have determined that circumcising a man already infected with HIV does not protect his female partner from the virus. Early results prompted the scientists to cut short a study for the safety of the female subjects. Circumcision is known to protect men from acquiring HIV. But the research, from the Lancet, showed no benefit in those who already had …

I caught an cute segment about Auto-Tune on PBS’ Nova, in which music engineers point to Cher’s 1998 hit Believe as the first dramatically pitch-altered hit single. It seems like every other song on the radio right now uses the Believe gimmick, doesn’t it?

A little bit of encouraging news today. An HIV/AIDS vaccine developed in Canada has passed safety tests in animals and the researchers are awaiting approval to begin human trials in the U.S. “It is a very important milestone for us,” said Yong Kang, a professor of microbiology at the University of Western Ontario in London who has been working on …

Via Free Republic, in response to a Scientific American story wondering if same-sex behavior in the animal kingdom has an effect on evolution: A father watched his young daughter playing in the garden. He smiled as he reflected on how sweet and pure his little girl was. Tears formed in his eyes as he thought about her seeing the wonders …