New findings include data on sexual function, risk behaviors in newly-circumcised men; World leaders urged to scale up life-saving procedure for nations at greatest risk

With the recent endorsement by the World Health Organization (WHO) and scientists worldwide of adult male circumcision as an important strategy for HIV prevention, there is increased urgency to develop safe and cost-effective circumcision services. This is especially the case in Africa where HIV/AIDS continues to spread at an epidemic rate.

Clinical trials hoping to identify a vaginal microbicide that is both safe and effective against HIV have all but skirted questions befitting the evaluation of an approach intended primarily for sexually active women of childbearing age: What if a woman becomes pregnant while using a product? Can exposure to a product, especially early in pregnancy, pose a risk to the developing fetus?

Various intervention strategies have been implemented to curb the rise of HIV, and a factor that might affect exposure to interventions is gender. A new study in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology reviewed the behavior of participants exposed to various HIV brochures.

Young Internet-using men who have sex with men AND who meet their sexual partners both online and offline have greater numbers of partners, appear more likely to contract HIV, and report higher substance use rates than those who meet their partners exclusively online or offline, according to new research at the University of Minnesota.

The House of Representatives has approved bipartisan legislation by a vote of 308 to 116 to provide $50 billion over the next five years for U.S. efforts to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS around the world, and fight tuberculosis and malaria.

A key congressional committee has approved and passed on for consideration by the House of Representatives legislation to dramatically increase U.S. funding to help prevent and treat HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis around the world. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

A drug already used to treat parasitic infections, and once looked at for cancer, also attacks the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in a new and powerful way, according to research published today online in the open access journal Retrovirology.

A group of Australian researchers at the Universities of Melbourne and New South Wales have developed new tools and paradigms to understand immune evasion from HIV. The study, published Friday, January 25 in PLoS Pathogens, shows that both prior vaccination and timing influence the rates of immune escape, providing further insight into the effectiveness of T cell immunity to HIV.

A study published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests that secondary school attendance is linked to lower risk of HIV infection among young people in rural South Africa.

A plentiful ingredient found in human semen drastically enhances the ability of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to cause infection, according to a report in the December 14, 2007, issue of the journal Cell, a publication of Cell Press.

New research published in PLoS Medicine shows the high risk of acquiring HIV infection faced by men who have sex with men in developing countries. The findings make clear that it is vital for HIV prevention programs to try to reach these men.