Sex, drugs and HIV
Sex has overtaken intravenous drug use as the primary cause of HIV infection in China, according to figures from China鈥檚 Ministry of Health. Of 70,000 new HIV infections in 2005, 49.8 per cent were the result of sexual contact, while 48.6 were caused by sharing needles, China Daily reports.
Breast cancer vaccine
A new vaccine may slow tumour growth in women with advanced breast cancer and appears to be relatively safe, according to a phase I trial (Journal of Clinical Oncology, ). Called Neuvenge, it is made using immune cells from the cancer patient and is tailored to target Her2/neu-positive breast cancer, which comprises 20 to 30 per cent of cases.
Africa鈥檚 modified maize
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A variety of maize engineered to carry a viral gene that protects it against maize streak virus is claimed to be the first genetically modified crop plant developed wholly by African researchers. Dionne Shepherd and colleagues at the University of Cape Town collaborated with Pannar, a South African seed company, to produce the maize.
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Germany announced plans for a lunar mission at the European Planetary Science Congress in Potsdam on 22 August. The proposed Lunar Explorations Orbiter aims to launch in 2012 and consists of two spacecraft. The mission will map the moon鈥檚 magnetic and gravitational fields in 3D and study the lunar surface and the structure of rocks to a depth of 100 metres.
Fishy invasion
Escaped Pacific salmon from farms along the coast of Chile have dispersed around Cape Horn and colonised a river on the Atlantic coast of Argentina. The invasion, which was confirmed by DNA analysis, is the first documented invasion of Pacific salmon into the Atlantic Ocean.