Kindest cut confirmed
Earlier trials in Africa showing that circumcision halves a man鈥檚 risk of HIV infection have been corroborated by two trials, both published in The Lancet (vol 369). Circumcised men in a Kenyan study were 53 per cent less likely than uncircumcised men to pick up HIV (p 643), while in Uganda the figure was 51 per cent (p 657).
ADHD drugs warning
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Manufacturers of drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) must develop guides alerting patients to the possible cardiovascular risks and adverse psychiatric symptoms associated with the drugs, the US Food and Drug Administration says. Nearly 4 million Americans are prescribed amphetamine-like stimulants to treat ADHD.
Cold viewing
For astronomers, there is light at the end of the Earth. On 16 February, the 25-metre-tall, 280-tonne South Pole Telescope made its first observations. The clear, cold, dry atmosphere at the pole will allow the telescope to probe the cosmic microwave background radiation, the afterglow of the big bang.
Monster calamari
Fishermen working in the Antarctic have landed a huge surprise: the first adult colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni. A New Zealand vessel was deep fishing when it caught the squid, which is said to be male, 10 metres long and 450 kilograms in weight 鈥� perhaps too big even for a sperm whale to eat.
DNA and 鈥渞acial鈥� diversity
People on the Melanesian islands are among the most genetically diverse in the world, and where they live, the size of their home island and the language they speak are linked to differences in their mitochondrial DNA (PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000248). There are big differences just from one island to the next, undermining the notion of 鈥渞acial鈥� differences between people from different continents.