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Reports that by the year 2001, half of the HIV population in the United States could be Blacks. Information on HIV and Blacks in the United States; Comments from Mario Cooper, an HIV-positive Black; Names of prominent Black health officials who attended a conference where Cooper made the revelation; Number of African-Americans diagnosed with HIV daily.

The article reports that a study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health found that administering AIDS drugs to HIV patients rendered them significantly less infectious. Myron Cohen of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina led the study, which involved 1,763 couples, one each of which had HIV.

The article discusses instances of health-care providers in the U.S. receiving unusually large amounts from the Medicare insurance program. Several cases are described including that of Dr. Christopher Wayne, who in 2008 was the recipient of over $1.2 million in Medicare payments, much of it for an unorthodox regimen of physical therapy he administered. INSET: Secrets of the System.

The article discusses findings gleaned from the publication's analysis of computerized records of Medicare payments in the U.S. By law, physicians receiving Medicare payments cannot be identified by name. Special attention is paid to an unnamed family medicine practitioner in the New York City area who received over $2 million in Medicare payments in 2008, and whose billing records suggest she may have committed fraud.

The article reports that clinical research shows women are able to significantly reduce their chances of becoming infected by the HIV virus by applying a gel containing the antiretroviral drug tenofovir both before and after sexual intercourse. Conducted by the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, the study holds promise for fighting AIDS in that nation and elsewhere in Africa.

The article reports that scientists at the Vaccine Research Center of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have discovered antibodies capable of neutralizing up to 90 percent of known strains of the HIV virus. The antibodies were discovered in the cells of a 60-year old gay man. Gary Nabel, one of the researchers, states that developing a vaccine which would allow other persons to develop the antibodies is a long-term project.

The article reports that over $3 billion in cash has been loaded onto planes and flown out of Afghanistan over the previous three-year period. U.S. investigators suspect a sizable fraction has been diverted from Western aid projects and North Atlantic Treaty Organization contracts, and sent to the overseas accounts of Afghan government officials.

The article discusses the impact of health-care-reform legislation in the U.S. on commissions paid to those who sell health-insurance policies. Under the law no less than 80% of policy premiums must be devoted to medical care. Consequently, Independence Blue Cross of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has switched from commissions to flat rates for its salespeople. Industry lobbyist Janet Trautwein says commissions will eventually vanish.

The article examines research done by a small group of zoologists on the behavior of stray dogs in Moscow, Russia. The city has long had a significant population of stray dogs, and the dogs are adapting rapidly to Moscow's changing economic and social conditions. Increased prosperity and social freedom for humans has led the dogs to congregate where people do, in places such as subway stations and near the city's many outdoor fast-food kiosks.

This article focuses on scuba diving in the White Sea in Russia. The article explains that the White Sea offers ice diving to view sea creatures such as comb jellies, starfish, ophiuras, crossasters, and anemones. The article details the area, how to access it, creatures found there, and the dangers of ice diving.

The article focuses on an increase in cocaine use which is being seen in European countries, including Italy and France, in 2008. A discussion of new money laundering techniques for Euro notes which involve Latin American drug cartels, and which have developed as a result of the increase in cocaine use, is presented.

The article discusses accessories for runners that incorporate Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Devices from companies such as Garmin and MotionLingo can monitor one's pace, heart rate, and distance run. The firms offer subscription-based websites that can provide maps of running routes. GPS equipment can be a useful training aid.

The article reports on evidence which has emerged which suggests that Merck & Co.'s experimental HIV vaccine may have made its recipients more vulnerable to the deadly AIDS virus. The evidence has prompted researchers to warn participants in other trials that similarly made vaccines for a range of other diseases might also increase their susceptibility to HIV. The impact the evidence may have on further vaccine research is discussed.

The article focuses on an increase in the use of a money laundering technique known as microstructuring being seen in the U.S. in 2007. The technique involves the use of ATM machines by drug dealers, organized crime, and terrorists who place cash into accounts which are not their own which later gets transferred to confederates in other locations. The case of Luis Saavedra and Carlos Roca, who allegedly laundered money for a Colombian drug trafficking organization, is discussed as an example.

The article focuses on the problems AIDS fighters in various African countries are finding while trying to get African men circumcised in an effort to prevent AIDS and the transmission of AIDS. Many of the countries have a severe shortage of doctors, patients who are minimally educated, and minimal medical regulations, which has resulted in many African men receiving their circumcisions at illegal locations and having them done by barely medically educated medical staff.

The article focuses on an increase in the illegal trading of methamphetamine and its presursor ingredients which is being seen in South Africa. A discussion of the factors which have led to the country's becoming a hub for drug trafficing, including the illegal poaching of abalone, a protected species which is traded to Asian countries in exchange for methamphetamine, is presented. An increase in methamphetamine use which has been seen worldwide and in South Africa is discussed.

The article focuses on a partnership which has developed between two South Africans. South African entrepreneur Gilad Stern and Evelina Tshabalala have joined in an effort to make Ms. Tshabalala a national hero and celebrity pitch woman for AIDS patients. Stern had noted a lack of black women in mountaineering and picked Tshabalala, who is infected with the AIDS virus, to help him in climbing the highest mountains on each of seven continents.

The article focuses on a proposed an anti-gay bill in Nigeria. The bill would punish, by up to five years, anyone who entered into or performed a gay marriage, or was involved in any gay clubs or societies. The effect the proposed bill is having on the relationship between Nigerian Christian theologian Augustus Olakunle Macaulay and his son Rowland Jide, who has founded a church for gay men and lesbians, is discussed.

The article discusses a policing method that officials in High Point, North Carolina have instituted in order to deal with drug dealers. Police officials have created a program that combines threats of legal prosecution with pleas from family members, clergy or others who have an influence in a drug dealer's life. The program has proven to be effective in shutting down drug markets in High Point; the article explores the program and criticism by some that it is too lenient.

This article describes the conclusions of two scientific research papers from immunologists about the human immune system and the AIDS virus. Both papers conclude that the virus exploits the human body's natural mechanism for shutting down the immune system, and the process can be reversed. Tasuku Honjo discovered the PD-1 molecule which regulates disease fighting T-cells. The AIDS virus attacks PD-1causing it to prevent T-cells from doing their job. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is funding research on how to turn PD-1 back on.

Reports that French and South African medical researchers have found that male circumcision reduces the risk that men will contact HIV through intercourse with infected women by seventy percent. Review of the difficulty in stopping the spread of HIV cases worldwide; Difficulty of developing a vaccine for the disease; Discussion of how the circumcision findings were so dramatic that the data and safety monitoring board overseeing the research halted the study in February on the grounds that it would be immoral to proceed without offering the uncircumcised control group the opportunity to undergo the procedure.

Reports that former U.S. President Bill Clinton will announce a program designed to slash the price of antiretroviral AIDS medicine in developing countries. Price reduction of the drugs negotiated by Ira Magaziner, of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative, with several generic-drug companies -- Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Matrix Laboratories Ltd. and Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd.; Details of the health infrastructure plans to be implemented by several Caribbean states and three African countries, designed to improve drug delivery and overall health-care systems; Fund raising efforts by Clinton to finance the health systems.

The article reports on the result of a research conducted at the Ragon Institute, a joint project of Massachusetts General Hospital, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, which investigated the possibility that some HIV sectors or group pf amino acids can be targeted for AIDS vaccines or drugs.

The article reports on the need to provide additional funding for the control of the AIDS epidemic, which will be discussed at the United Nations (UN) High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS to be held in New York City from June 8-10, 2011.

The article reports that a trial on HIV pill involving high-risk women in Africa has been stopped as researchers failed to determine whether taking the medication would be beneficial or not.

The article reports on the legislation introduced by two U.S. senators who intend to overturn a 1979 court injunction that prohibits the government from revealing what individual physicians earn from Medicare.

The article discusses the legislative bills introduced by Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden which aim to overturn a 1979 court injunction that prohibits publicly showing the earnings of physicians from Medicare.

This article reports on the lawsuits filed against 114 individuals on charges related to Medicare fraud after a crackdown by the U.S. federal government on healthcare crime on February 17, 2011.

The article reports on the discovery by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases suggesting that the virus which causes AIDS does not infect the human body easily and HIV's difficulties can be used to determine potential prevention and treatment methods.

The article reports on a draft document written by Maine actuary Rick Diamond wherein he noted that the health insurance industry will not experience a significant negative effect on profit from the healthcare reform in the U.S.

The article discusses the guidelines being developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the testing and approval of multidrug regimens.

The article discusses the improvements in the whole-body imaging technology also known as the virtual strip search for use in passenger security screening in airports aimed at protecting privacy.

This article reports on the move of AIDS scientists to question the results of a study that found the first vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Conducted by researchers from the U.S. Army and Thailand, the study concluded that the vaccine is effective in protecting people against HIV. AIDS scientists said a second analysis of the study showed the results may have been a fluke. Jerome Kim, a scientist with the U.S. Army, said they stand with the results.

The article reports on a breakthrough regarding a possible cure for AIDS unveiled by Dr. Gero Hütter. The physician executed a bone marrow transplant to a 42-year-old AIDS patient to treat his leukemia. After 2 years, his blood does not exhibit any virus. The AIDS drug antiretrovirals inhibit the virus from reproducing but has to be taken for life and are expensive. Dr. Hutter utilized a donor who have a CCR5 mutation from both parents to make the patient immune to HIV in theory.

The article reports that wide financial deficit and the drop in metal prices pose a threat to South Africa to be affected by the global financial crisis. The current-account deficit of the country was hardly hit when the trade deficit in September 2008 reached $729 million. Trevor Manuel, Finance Minister of South Africa said their economy will be protected from the effects of the global crisis. African National Congress head Jacob Zuma shares that their economic policies and financial discipline helped them absorb the impact of the financial crisis.

The article reports that Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa's ruling African National Congress Party, said that South Africa will maintain its long-standing diplomatic policy on Zimbabwe and will not impose sanctions on the country. Zuma, the probable next president of South Africa said he will keep the country's fiscally disciplined policies despite a weakening global economy and a growing credit crisis. He states that the South African-brokered power sharing deal by Zimbabwe's ruling and opposition parties if the only acceptable plan.

The article concentrates on the financial contribution of the Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of about $15.4 million to support "Proposition 8" ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in California. The Mormon support of the initiative has given the "Yes on 8" advocates the fund-raising lead, while "No on 8" supporters trail behind with $13 million. A brief background on the history of same-sex marriage in California is provided, noting other religious groups that have contributed money to support the initiative.

The article discusses the hypothesis of Margaret McFall-Ngai that the immune system keeps each species of microbes in the human body in its proper niche and quantity. More biologists are starting to believe that aside from its protective role, the immune system acts as a regulator of the microbial community to maintain communities of bacteria in balance. The hypothesis, if confirmed has a big impact on medicine because many health problems have been linked to imbalances in the bacterial communities, including inflammatory-bowel disease and obesity.

The article presents information on the physical evidence in the anthrax case in the U.S. which are four hand-addressed envelopes, four letters and a small amount of anthrax itself. Accordingly, the envelopes that were used were the prestamped kind available at post offices nationwide and the letters were photocopies, not originals. Also, no fingerprints or human DNA were found on the envelopes or letters.

The article reports on a study on two drugs, GW1516 and AICAR or acadecine, which allegedly mimic the effects of physical exercise on the body. The study reportedly shed light to treatments against diseases and ways to cheat at sports. The World Anti-Doping Agency has released a statement regarding a number of anti-doping organizations, such as the International Olympic Committee, that store samples for potential future re-testing.

The article features Hawaii's probation program, HOPE, or Hawaii' Opportunity Probation with Enforcement. Crime experts say the probation program, started in 2004 by a U.S. attorney, has the potential to transform the nation's broken probation system and has reduced the number of probation violations among criminals, with some evidence showing that it can reduce repeat crimes. The success is due to flash incarceration that sends offenders immediately to jail for short sentences for violating any probation condition.

The article reports on the pricing agreement set to be introduced by the Clinton Foundation on July 17, 2008 that it hopes will make malaria drugs available to millions of poor people. According to Chinese producers, the price of the antimalarial plant extract artemisinin has fluctuated from as little as $150 a kilogram to as much as $1,100. It is said that the proposed agreement aims to limit price fluctuations and puts a ceiling on the price of the raw artemisinin, among other things.

The article presents an itinerary for travelers who plan to go on a trip to the North Pole. It explains that there are flights out of Los Angeles, California to Moscow on board the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot for 900 dollars or from New York via Delta Airlines for 1,000 dollars. Once in Moscow, the journey continues with either another flight to Murmansk or a train ride to Chupa. The article also suggests that the peak ice-diving season is February to April.

The article reports on the failure of the experimental AIDS vaccine of Merck & Co. to prevent test subjects from becoming infected with HIV as well as offer indication that it might delay the onset of full-blown AIDS. Mark Feinberg of Merck has expressed disappointment over the failure of this trial which was considered the leading edge of research on T-cell based HIV vaccines.

The article reports on a meeting organized by local police chief with the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush regarding anticrime funds.

The article deals with the anticipated announcement by former U.S. President Bill Clinton on the price discounts secured by his foundation on medicines for AIDS patients in developing countries on January 12, 2006.