In October 2009, a Science report that patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) were infected with XMRV attracted a great deal of attention, but subsequent studies could not confirm this finding. Now, a new study in the 22 September edition of ScienceExpress reports that the lab tests used to detect the retrovirus called XMRV in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome are unreliable. The study is accompanied by a partial retraction of the original Science paper.

A small sample of genital secretions from a heterosexual person with HIV can reveal the odds of that person transmitting the disease to a partner, reports a new study in the 6 April issue of Science Translational Medicine.

“Our study is the first to show that the quantity of HIV in a genital sample predicts the risk of HIV transmission. The results add tremendous weight to 20 years of genital HIV research,” said lead author Jared Baeten, assistant professor of global health at the University of Washington in Seattle.