Mouse study offers hope in HIV fight

Mouse study offers hope in HIV fight

NEW YORK

As scientists struggle to find a vaccine to prevent infection with the AIDS virus, a study in mice suggests hope for a new approach — one that scientists now want to test in people.

The treated mice in the study appeared to have 100 percent protection against HIV. That doesn’t mean the strategy will work in people. But several experts were impressed.

The new study involved injecting mice with a protective gene, an idea that’s been tested against HIV infection in animals for a decade.

Researchers reported the new results in mice online Wednesday in the journal Nature. They hope to test the approach in people in a couple of years.

Donated suit held man’s life savings

DES MOINES, Iowa

Charity workers continued their search Wednesday through a warehouse of donated clothes in Iowa after an elderly man said he mistakenly donated a suit with $13,000 in a coat pocket to a Goodwill store in Moline, Ill.

The 80-year-old Illinois man, who has remained anonymous, notified Goodwill last week of the mistake, said Dana Engelbert, vice president of marketing for Goodwill of the Heartland, which covers 16 counties in southeast Iowa and three in western Illinois.

The man was not sure when he donated the gray suit, she said.

The man’s wife has cancer and has been using the money to offset medical expenses, she said.

As word of the man’s plight spread, Goodwill has been inundated with calls and emails from people offering to help the man.

FDA examines levels of arsenic in juice

WASHINGTON

The Food and Drug Administration is considering tightening restrictions for the levels of arsenic allowed in apple juice after consumer groups pushed the agency to crack down on the contaminant.

Studies show that apple juice has generally low levels of arsenic, and the government says it is safe to drink. But consumer advocates say the FDA is allowing too much of the chemical — which is sometimes natural, sometimes man-made — into apple juices favored by thirsty kids.

There is little consensus on whether these low levels could eventually be harmful, especially to children.

The FDA uses 23 parts per billion as a guide to judge whether apple juice is contaminated. Consumer groups say the FDA’s level is too high and isn’t enforced with enough urgency.

Public employees strike in Britain

LONDON

Paramedics, emergency crews, teachers and even some employees from the prime minister’s office took to the streets of Britain for the country’s largest strike in decades — drawing attention to government cuts but failing to bring the nation to a standstill.

Public-sector employees staged the one-day walkout Wednesday over government demands that they work longer before receiving a pension and pay more in monthly contributions, part of austerity measures to tackle Britain’s $1.5 trillion debt.

Rev. Billy Graham admitted to hospital

ASHEVILLE, N.C.

The Rev. Billy Graham was admitted to a hospital Wednesday near his home in western North Carolina to be tested for pneumonia after suffering from congestion, a cough and a slight fever, his spokesman said. The 93-year-old evangelist was taken to Mission Hospital in Asheville, spokesman A. Larry Ross said. His personal physician, Dr. Lucian Rice, said he was in stable condition.

Associated Press