Some articles for the slow (news and traffic wise) sunday afternoon :

-Gene Expression Profile Aids in Predicting Risk of Cancer Spread
-When Interferons Interfere with the Wrong Thing
-Scientists: too much $$ for bioterror
-Early Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants Benefit Intermediate-Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia
-HAART saves 2 million life years
-90 million Africans with AIDS predicted

I'm working on a revamped commenting system intertwined with the forum; basically, any comments would create a thread in the forums to allow for further discussion. I also spotted a nice alternate theme switcher over at Ars Technica, which allow users to select a theme based on their preference and remembers (via a cookie) it for the subsequent visits. I'll work on it, knowing that black-themed pages are hard to read for some people. Let me you what you think about it.

Nematodes comprise a worm family so large it literally covers the earth. They range in size from less than a micron in length to as much as 26 feet. Worldwide interest has begun to focus on microscopic nematodes that live with symbiotic bacteria. "We study these nematodes -- which are actually insect killers -- not only to understand how diverse they are, but also to use them as biological control alternatives," says Patricia Stock, a nematomologist in the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

A Burmese python is strong, but is it a model for human exercise? According an article published in the March 3 issue of the journal Nature, the snake's eating habits make it a prime model of cardiovascular fitness. The heart has the amazing ability to adapt to altered physiological requirements, and, according to the authors, this cold-blooded snake may provide insights into how remodeling of the heart occurs in adapting to prolonged exercise and in response to some diseases.

State Health Commissioner Antonia C. Novello, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., today announced the expansion of New York State's HIV/AIDS Public Awareness and Education campaign to help combat the potential spread of HIV and further protect New Yorkers from the virus that causes AIDS.

Dr. Novello said, "In light of recent reports of a drug-resistant, rapidly progressive strain of HIV in New York City, we must continue to reinforce critical HIV prevention messages to help New Yorkers protect themselves. Although, at this point, this is the only case of its kind we know of, it provides us with an opportunity to reaffirm our approach to combating the virus, protecting confidentiality of patients and easing any concerns among New Yorkers."

The ancestors of chimpanzees and gorillas were infected with a deadly retrovirus about three to four million years ago, but there is no evidence it infected ancestors of modern-day humans, according to research by genome scientists. The virus struck after humans had split off the evolutionary tree from primates, researchers said. The infection may have played a role in the evolution of such great apes as chimps and gorillas. The research appears in the April issue of the journal Public Library of Science-Biology, which is available online on March 1.