Researchers studying an induced condition in mice akin to multiple sclerosis have stumbled across a situation in which mice suffered a severe allergic reaction to injected protein fragments that mimic one their own proteins.

A new vaccine spurs people to produce a strong immune response against human papillomavirus, a virus that can infect both men and women and causes cervical cancer in women. (p. 132)

A panel of scientists has changed the guidelines for prescribing medication for HIV-infected patients, considerably lowering the suggested T-cell-count and HIV-copy thresholds. (p. 127)

A new drug called T-1249, which keeps the AIDS virus from fusing with immune cells, proves largely safe in people. (p. 127)

Organ transplants succeed in some HIV-infected people, spurring further research into this practice. (p. 127)

A genetic mutation that protects people from AIDS may also make them susceptible to hepatitis C. (p. 127)

The newly discovered LUNX gene, active only in lungs and in lung tumors that have spread outside that organ, may help in determining which lung cancer patients are likely to suffer a recurrence.

A suite of genes lights up when researchers probe for cancer. (p. 117)

Triclosan--a drug used as an antimicrobial agent in toothpaste, deodorant, and other products--kills rodent malaria parasites in mice and human malaria parasites in test-tube studies. (p. 102)

Rhythmic grinding of teeth during sleep occurs at least once a week in as many as 8.2 percent of people. (p. 94)

Antibodies formed in response to the vaccine against Lyme disease kill the bacteria that cause it while they are still in the deer tick that spreads it. (p. 94)

A patient who has inflammation of the pancreas and needs to have the organ removed can avoid getting diabetes if islet cells are salvaged from the pancreas and reimplanted into the liver. (p. 94)

Various potentially dangerous strains of simian immunodeficiency virus exist in wild primates in Africa and are still being spread among people who hunt the animals for meat. (p. 86)