The HIV epidemic among gay men in the Netherlands isn't going to decline as long as large, persistent, self-sustaining, and, in many cases, growing sub-epidemics shifting towards new generations of gay men, according to a new paper in PLOS Medicine by Daniela Bezemer from HIV Monitoring Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Anne Cori from Imperial College London, UK, and colleagues.

An analysis of nearly 500 anti-vaccination websites found that over two-thirds used what they represented as scientific evidence to support the idea that vaccines are dangerous and nearly one-third contained anecdotes that reinforced the perception. 

When you think of cheerleaders, and skimpy outfits, you probably do not consider them as being on the front lines of challenging stereotypes. But they are. No one is a professional cheerleader, instead they are scientists, engineers and just about any other occupation who compete to be on squads for the same reason anyone competes in anything.

And it has become an inclusive activity for both boys and girls, which means it can do a lot more to challenge traditional ideas about gender roles than forcing mixed-sex sports on kids. 

Mood biases our judgments and perceptions, but this effect has usually been regarded as irrational or disadvantageous. New speculation in Trends in Cognitive Sciences argues that mood draws on experiences and can, in fact, help us quickly adapt to changes in our environment. For example, experiencing unexpected gains on the stock market should improve a trader's mood. That positive mood may then cause the trader to take more risks, essentially helping them adapt more quickly to a market that is generally on the rise. 

10 commercially available insect repellents were evaluated for their effectiveness at repelling mosquitoes. Three of the products (Repel 100® Insect Repellent, OFF® Deep Woods Insect Repellent VIII, and Cutter® Skinsations Insect Repellent) were mosquito repellents that contained DEET as the active ingredient, and four of the products (Cutter® Natural Insect Repellent, EcoSmart® Organic Insect Repellent, Cutter® Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent, and Avon® Skin So Soft Bug Guard) were mosquito repellents that did not contain DEET. The other three products tested were Avon® Skin So Soft Bath Oil, Victoria's Secret® Bombshell perfume, and Mosquito Skin Patch®, a skin patch with vitamin B1 as the active ingredient.

The lipid ceramide, long known to help keep skin smooth, also helps algae swim toward the light and appears to enable one type of brain cell to keep cerebrospinal fluid moving, researchers report in a new paper. 

Ceramide helps make and keep in motion hairlike projections called motile cilia found in algae and in brains. 

"It's important to know how you regulate your cilia because they can become dysfunctional by stroke, by Alzheimer's, by inflammation, even by aging," said Dr. Erhard Bieberich, neuroscientist in the Medical College of Georgia Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine.