Breast cancer protection
A gene variant that protects against breast cancer has been found to exist in roughly a quarter of European women. The gene makes an enzyme called caspase 8, which helps abnormal cells die off. This particular variant reduces the risk of breast cancer from 1 in 9 to 1 in 10, reports Angela Cox of the University of Sheffield, UK, in Nature Genetics (DOI: 10.1038/ng1981).
HIV vaccine ready to roll
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Africa鈥檚 largest trial yet of a vaccine against HIV received the go-ahead on 8 February. The vaccine, called HVTN 503, consists of a weakened adenovirus containing three genes from HIV. It will be given to half of the 3000 South African volunteers enrolled in the trial, while the remainder will be given a placebo vaccine. All volunteers will receive condoms and counselling.
Galloping genome
The horse is the latest beast to have its genetic heritage laid bare. Based on DNA from a thoroughbred called Twilight, the first draft was published in the Genbank database on 7 February by the US National Human Genome Research Institute. Researchers hope to use this tool to probe the genetics of equine traits and diseases.
Spacecraft glitches
Just as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is about to break the record for data collection from Mars, NASA reports glitches with two of the spacecraft鈥檚 instruments. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera has shown a significant jump in image noise, while the instrument used to scan the planet鈥檚 atmosphere is having intermittent positioning problems.
Sounding the alarm
Japan, one of the world鈥檚 most seismically active countries, has launched 鈥淛-ALERT鈥�, a system that transmits warnings of natural disasters such as tsunamis from Japan鈥檚 Meteorological Agency to city and town offices via satellite.