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EAST LANSING, Mich. — While global attention to HIV/AIDS remains strong, a lack of focus on prevention strategies is stonewalling health experts in many developing nations, specifically in the Caribbean.

By adopting a new approach to HIV prevention, Michigan State University's Institute of International Health is hoping to turn the tide on new infections on the island of Hispaniola, which accounts for nearly 75 percent of the Caribbean's AIDS cases.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – With a growing need for family-friendly workplace policies, a new study commissioned by the National Partnership for Women & Families, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, concludes that providing paid family leave to workers leads to positive economic outcomes for working families, businesses and the public.

ARLINGTON, Va.—Specialty canines were on a mission to sniff out trouble and display their explosive-detecting abilities Jan. 18 as part of an Office of Naval Research (ONR)-hosted "Top Dog Demo 2012."

"These dogs have kept Marines alive by helping them move through the battle space," said Lisa Albuquerque, program manager for ONR's Naval Expeditionary Dog Program, part of ONR's Expeditionary Warfare and Combating Terrorism department. "Marines can focus on their mission because they've got these four-legged sensors helping to keep them safe."

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University researchers have discovered that an element commonly found in nature might provide a way to neutralize the potentially lethal effects of a compound known as Shiga toxin. New results published in the Jan. 20 issue of Science by Carnegie Mellon biologists Adam Linstedt and Somshuvra Mukhopadhyay show that manganese completely protects against Shiga toxicosis in animal models.

Irvine, Calif. – A disease-fighting protein in our teardrops has been tethered to a tiny transistor, enabling UC Irvine scientists to discover exactly how it destroys dangerous bacteria. The research could prove critical to long-term work aimed at diagnosing cancers and other illnesses in their very early stages.

The controversial issues behind the building of high speed rail lines in China will be the topic of conversation next week when NJIT Associate Professor Rongfang (Rachel) Liu takes the stage at the annual 91st Transportation Research Board (TRB) conference. This event is the world's largest gathering in transportation, if not all of engineering, with upwards of 11,000 attendees from throughout the world.

EVANSTON --- Although the genetic basis of autism is now well established, a growing body of research also suggests that environmental factors may play a role in this serious developmental disorder affecting nearly one in 100 children. Using a unique study design, a new study suggests that low birth weight is an important environmental factor contributing to the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new University of Florida study shows a hybrid plant species may experience rapid genome evolution in predictable patterns, meaning evolution repeats itself in populations of independent origin.

Concerns about the worldwide energy supply and national, environmental and economic security have resulted in a search for alternative energy sources. A new University of Illinois study shows Miscanthus x giganteus (M. x giganteus) is a strong contender in the race to find the next source of ethanol if appropriate growing conditions are identified.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Pigeons display spectacular variations in their feathers, feet, beaks and other physical traits, but a new University of Utah study shows that visible traits don't always coincide with genetics: A bird from one breed may have huge foot feathers, while a closely related breed does not; yet two unrelated pigeon breeds both may have large foot feathers.

Your standard street pigeon might seem like a bore, but pigeon fanciers well know that the species as a whole is quite the opposite. Pigeons come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Some have feathers reaching up over their heads like a hood. Others have feathers all the way to the tips of their toes or fanned out on their tails like tiny turkeys. Still others have beaks almost too small to see.

An inherited mutation in a gene known as the guardian of the genome is likely the link between exploding chromosomes and some particularly aggressive types of cancer, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and the University Hospital, all in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered.

Cholesterol-lowering statins seem to keep breast cancer at bay in some patients. Now researchers reporting in the January 20th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, provide clues about how statins might yield those unexpected benefits. The findings also suggest that mutations in a single gene could be used to identify tumors likely to respond to statin therapy.

PHILADELPHIA - Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Rhim, MD, a Gastroenterology Fellow in the Stanger lab, discovered that pancreatic cancer cells in an animal model begin to spread before clinically obvious tumor tissue is detected. What's more, they showed that inflammation enhances cancer progression in part by facilitating a cellular transformation that leads to entry of cancer cells into the circulation. They report their findings this week in Cell.

PHILADELPHIA - Men are four times more likely to develop liver cancer compared to women, a difference attributed to the sex hormones androgen and estrogen. Although this gender difference has been known for a long time, the molecular mechanisms by which estrogens prevent -- and androgens promote -- liver cancer remain unclear.