Scientist: HIV Vaccine at Square One

Staff / Truthdig Feb 15, 2008 Nobel Prize-winning biologist David Baltimore has told his peers that researchers are no closer to discovering an HIV vaccine after decades of study. He called for new approaches and said the challenge was difficult because "to control HIV immunologically the scientific community has to beat out nature, do something that nature, with its advantage of four billion years of evolution, has not been able to do." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

AIDS Vaccine Disappoints

Staff / Truthdig Sep 22, 2007 A promising AIDS vaccine developed by Merck has proven unsuccessful in a major international trial. It's a huge setback, not just because this particular vaccine was further along than others, but because it used a new strategy shared by a number of alternatives. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Texas Governor’s Order for Cancer Vaccine Blocked

Staff / Truthdig Apr 27, 2007 Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has been rebuked by the state Legislature for ordering Texan girls to be vaccinated against HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer. Lawmakers passed a bill by a comfortable margin that would block the governor's order for four years. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Texas Governor Ignores the Zealots

Staff / Truthdig Feb 3, 2007 Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has issued an executive order mandating the use of the HPV vaccine, which can help prevent cervical cancer. The conservative Christian's decree trumps opposition in the Legislature and elsewhere from opponents who feel the treatment encourages premarital sex. Texas will be the first state to require that schoolgirls receive the vaccine. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Ellen Goodman: Putting a Wedge Between the Right and Loony Right

Ellen Goodman / Truthdig Jul 20, 2006 The columnist says Bush's veto of the stem cell bill has set him apart from his colleagues in the GOP and put him squarely in the ranks of the loony right. She also takes on a range of other "wedge issues" that have proved so divisive as to end up dividing even the staunchest conservatives. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Gene Gerard: Religion Running Roughshod Over Cancer Science

Gene Gerard / Truthdig Jun 11, 2006 The FDA just approved a vaccine to help protect against cervical cancer, but conservative Christian groups want to block its distribution out of fear that it would promote promiscuity. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

GOP Leaders Let Vaccine Makers Write Their Own Law

Staff / Truthdig May 9, 2006 Republican heavyweights Bill Frist and Dennis Hastert inserted a provision into a bill in the dead of night that was worth billions to vaccine makers. Roll Call said the move was unprecedented. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )