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SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WEEKLY

New Approaches Could Curb AIDS in Africa

Two new approaches tested in Africa could reduce the effects of HIV on women there: a vaginal gel to block infection and cash payments to delay sexual activity. Experts say the combination could finally make headway against a disease that has killed millions.

In other biomedical news, a new study found that when actors playing patients were sent into doctors' offices, diagnostic errors occurred in 78 percent of cases when socioeconomic concerns were a significant factor. Sometimes an emaciated person may be hungry rather than sick.

A postdoctoral fellow at Wake Forest University is using magnetic resonance imaging to study how meditation affects pain perception.

Two new studies show that reprogrammed cells, known as induced pluripotent stem cells, retain molecular memories of their former identities. The findings could be a blessing and a curse in the quest to transform reprogrammed cells into adult cell types for transplant.

Psychologists have found that teaching rudimentary sign language to infants who are too young to talk can help them with language development later on.

And, finally, Harvard Medical School is establishing new conflict-of-interest rules for its 11,000 faculty members governing their professional relationships with drug and medical device companies.