Researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have compelling evidence that some people with HIV who for years and even decades show extremely low levels of the virus in their blood never progress to full-blown AIDS and remain symptom free even without treatment, probably do so because of the strength of their immune systems, not any defects in the strain of HIV that infected them in the first place.

They say this finding renews promise of vaccine against AIDS and disproves the theory of a defective virus.

The theory about these so-called elite suppressors published in the Journal of Virology comes from rigorous blood and genetic studies of a monogamous, married, African-American couple in Baltimore, in which the wife was infected through sex with her husband more than a decade ago.

Diamonds from Brazil have provided the answers to a question that Earth scientists have been trying to understand for many years: how is oceanic crust that has been subducted deep into the Earth recycled back into volcanic rocks?

A team of researchers from the University of Bristol and the STFC Daresbury Laboratory, have gained a deeper insight into how the Earth recycles itself in the deep earth tectonic cycle way beyond the depths that can be accessed by drilling. The full paper on this research was published in Nature.

The Earth’s oceanic crust is constantly renewed in a cycle which has been occurring for billions of years. This crust is constantly being renewed from below by magma from the Earth’s mantle that has been forced up at mid-ocean ridges. This crust is eventually returned to the mantle, sinking down at subduction zones that extend deep beneath the continents. Seismic imaging suggests that the oceanic crust can be subducted to depths of almost 3000km below the Earth’s surface where it can remain for billions of years, during which time the crust material develops its own unique ‘flavour’ in comparison with the surrounding magmas. Exactly how this happens is a question that has baffled Earth scientists for years.

The unexplained bee disappearance known as Colony Collapse Disorder, CCD, is a problem that affects more than just honey producers. It may not seem like it, but bees play a big role in ice cream making. The domino-like process begins with the pollination of seeds for hay in order to feed the dairy producing cows for this internationally beloved dessert.

California has one fifth of the nations honey bees. More specifically, the state’s honeybees account for $6 billion of the $15 billion in commercial crop pollination value.

The CCD problem, involves the abandonment of the hive by adult bees. “The bees are not fleeing because of lack of food, but the ones left behind are dying because of lack of food and no other bees to keep them warm,” said Eric Mussen who is the extension apiculturist at U.C. Davis.

Schwarzkopf, makers of the gÖt2b line of hair care products, have introduced a hair gel called “gÖt2b Magnetik, With Phermones.” This hair gel contains a substance banned for use in international competition both inside and outside of the competitive season and could result in an athlete failing a drug test. In the worst case, use of this product could result in an athlete losing an Olympic gold medal. Why? The product contains androstadienone, a precursor of testosterone that is listed as a banned substance by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

ScientificBlogger Matthew Brown had the chance to sit down with Professor Meg Urry, the Israel Munson Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Yale University. She gives readers a special understanding of the issues affecting women in science; she offers her opinion on why so few women have gone into physics, and gives advice for aspiring women physicists. These views have been colored by her own personal experiences as a student, a mother, and as a physicist successful at the highest level:

Before coming to Yale in 2001, she held a tenured position on the senior scientific staff at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which runs the Hubble Space Telescope for NASA. In 2007, she was elected the first woman Chair of the Department of Physics at Yale.

LOS ANGELES, California and GUANGZHOU, China, August 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- Major Threat Treatable With StatC(TM); FDA-Approved Drugs to Begin Testing in U.S. Animal Models

An internationally renowned avian influenza expert today hailed "encouraging and exciting" results from experiments conducted by his research team. This study demonstrated impressive efficacy of a novel statin/caffeine combination, StatC(TM) in the treatment and prevention of H5N1, H1N1 and H3N2 in a mouse model.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/canopusbiopharma/34441/

LONDON, August 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- Revenue from continuing operations up 12% to $43.0 million

- EBITDA from continuing operations up 4.6% to $16.7 million

- Net profit from continuing operations up 223% to $5.5 million

Cascal N.V. (NYSE: HOO) (the "Company"), a leading provider of water and wastewater services in seven countries, today announced unaudited financial results for first quarter ended June 30, 2008. Cascal N.V. results are presented in U.S. dollars.

Results for First Quarter to June 30, 2008

IRVINE, California, August 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- Awards recognizing innovation in video and entertainment convergence will be granted to the most compelling new products, applications, or services

REHOVOT, Israel and JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, August 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- The Study Will Correlate the Results of Rosetta Genomics' MicroRNA-Based CUP Assay With Diagnostic Work Conducted at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

- Data on the Company's MicroRNA-Based CUP Assay and its High Sensitivity and Accuracy was Recently Published in the April Issue of Nature Biotechnology

Researchers have tackled the problem of cooperation (and the related one of the evolution of altruism) for some time now. Initial game theory models suggested that cooperative animals would quickly be supplanted by selfish ones because of a cost to cooperation, as in the the so-called simple prisoners’ dilemma. In these situations, typically an individual can choose between an action that benefits everyone, but at a cost to oneself, and an action that clearly benefits the individual, but comes at the risk of greater loss if everyone adopts that strategy. It turns out that most of us would rather lose than share, a sad but to many not surprising commentary on the human condition. However, people eventually realized that cooperation makes the most sense in social groups, where phenomena such as kin and reciprocal altruism can take place. Sure enough, if the prisoners’ dilemma game is played iteratively, instead of in just one round, and if the players are allowed to keep track of what other players are doing (i.e., to build “reputations”) then it turns out that cooperating, even at a certain cost to oneself, is the winning long-term strategy.