A cross-section of articles we've read this week about HIV/AIDS, STIs and a wide cross-section of structural and systemic factors impacting HIV/AIDS in Black communities.

Science

'Taste for Sugar' Could be HIV's Major Weakness

It turns out that having a sweet tooth is not just the downfall of many of us humans. According to a new study, a taste for sugar could also be HIV's major weakness and a target for future treatment.

Treatment

New Aids Treatment Findings Hailed

STAKEHOLDERS in the health sector have hailed a new requirement that compels health institutions to immediately introduce anti-retroviral therapy on any patient who tests HIV-positive.

Provision of PrEP in the UK Will be Cost-Effective for Gay Men at High Risk of HIV, Model Finds

Price reductions will be needed for wider provision to be cost-effective

Miscellaneous

Big Dangers for the Next Election

While people are wasting their time speculating about who will win the presidency more than a year from now-Can Hillary beat Jeb? Can anybody beat Hillary? Is the GOP nominee going to be Jeb or Walker?-growing dangers to a democratic election, ones that could decide the outcome, are being essentially overlooked. The three dangers are voting restrictions, redistricting, and loose rules on large amounts of money being spent to influence voters. In recent years, we've been moving further and further away from a truly democratic election system.

LGBT People Victims of 'Pervasive Violence' Worldwide, UN Report Reveals

A new UN report published yesterday revealed that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are victims of "pervasive abuse, violence and discrimination" worldwide.

Obama's AIDS Boss Appeals to Apax, Nike for Help to Curb HIV

Deborah Birx wants to wring more from the $6.8 billion the U.S. gives her each year to fight AIDS around the world. Hampered by a stagnant budget, she's cutting off funding to clinics that fail to find HIV cases and looking to Starbucks Corp. and Nike Inc. for ideas.

Seeking Rate Increases, Insurers Use Guesswork

In a sign of the tumult in the health insurance industry under the Affordable Care Act, companies are seeking wildly differing rate increases in premiums for 2016, with some as high as 85 percent, according to information released on Monday by the federal government for the 37 states using HealthCare.gov as their exchange.

Throw Away the Script: How Media Bias Is Killing Black America

The American people are being force-fed a media diet of stereotypes and misperceptions, overcriminalizing and marginalizing African Americans through language, images and omissions.

Understanding the Rate Increases for Health Care Plans

Insurance companies have begun announcing rate increases for the health care plans they will sell next year on the Obamacare marketplaces, and a handy new website from the federal government makes searching for rate change requests easier than ever.