Pope: Condoms Don’t Help in Fight Against AIDS

Staff / Truthdig Mar 18, 2009 On his way to his first visit to Africa, Pope Benedict XVI told attendant members of the press that he believes encouraging condom use not only doesn't help in the fight against AIDS, but actually worsens the situation. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

New Hope in the Fight Against AIDS

Staff / Truthdig Dec 1, 2008 World AIDS Day turns 20 today, and while we still don't have a vaccine, researchers continue to make lifesaving breakthroughs. A team at the World Health Organization in Geneva recently came up with a "thought experiment" that, according to a mathematical model, could end the AIDS epidemic in Africa in only a decade. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

AIDS Theory Runs Amok

Staff / Truthdig Nov 26, 2008 In a glaring example of the importance of theory in practice, U.S. researchers have accused former South African President Thabo Mbeki of being responsible for more than 300,000 AIDS-related "avoidable deaths," pointing to Mbeki's siding with a theoretical camp that argues AIDS is caused by a collapsed immune system, not a viral infection. As a result, offers of free drugs and grant money for AIDS treatment were rejected. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Study: U.S. HIV Infection Rates Drastically Underreported

Staff / Truthdig Aug 3, 2008 The United States is in far worse shape when it comes to HIV infection rates than researchers previously thought, according to a new study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that attributes the whopping 40 percent adjustment to more precise research methods. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

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 )

U.N. Downsizes AIDS Estimate

Staff / Truthdig Nov 20, 2007 Finally, some good news in the world (relatively speaking): AIDS scientists at the United Nations are ready to announce that they have been overestimating the scale of the viral epidemic for quite some time now, and that the spread of AIDS has actually been decelerating over the last decade. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Is Obesity Contagious?: Round Two

Staff / Truthdig Aug 21, 2007 It's beginning to look like there's nowhere to hide from the often-referenced "obesity epidemic." First came the news this month that friends may cause each others' waistlines to expand, and now there's a new study out that links excess weight, in certain cases, to a common cold-inducing virus, adenovirus-36. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Because Hot Dogs Didn’t Have Enough Strange Ingredients

Staff / Truthdig Aug 20, 2006 The FDA has approved the use of a group of viruses as a food additive for ready-to-eat meat products, such as hot dogs and cold cuts. Companies that use the additive will not be required to inform consumers. Dig deeper ( 1 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 )