Biomedicine. (Science News of the year: the weekly newsmagazine of science).

Anthrax advances Spurred by threats of bioterrorism, researchers unveiled the anthrax bacterium's genome (161: 317 *) and reported possible ways of blocking its deadly effects (162: 115 *).

New vaccines In women, vaccines stopped human papillomavirus, the cause of cervical cancer (162: 323); 10 common bacteria that cause bladder infections (161: 5); and the virus that causes genital herpes (162: 399). Another vaccine protected kidney-dialysis patients from common blood infections (161: 99). In the lab, a malaria vaccine showed promise (162: 99), and a vaccine fashioned from pieces of the viruses that cause dengue fever and West Nile fever protected mice against West Nile infections (161: 164).

Estrogen redux Several studies indicated that the health risks associated with estrogen therapy for postmenopausal women outweigh its benefits (162: 61 *).

Cancer therapies Among women who harbor mutations in the BRCA genes, ovary removal reduced the risk of ovarian, peritoneal, and breast cancers (161: 323 *). Three new drugs stopped acute myeloid leukemia in mice, suggesting new treatments against this deadly blood cancer in people (161: 371 *).

Inflammation and disease Researchers gathered evidence that inflammation precedes and predicts diabetes (162:136 *) and showed that people who died suddenly of heart attacks had an abundance of C-reactive protein, an indicator of inflammation, in their blood (161: 244).

The age of Alzheimer's A pharmaceutical company halted tests of vaccine against Alzheimer's (161: 109), but a drug showed it can interfere with deposits of amyloid, like those in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease (161: 307).

Smallpox scourge Government scientists found that stockpiled smallpox vaccine doses can be diluted to one-tenth their original concentration and still be effective (161: 238). And researchers calculated that vaccinating an entire city in response to a smallpox attack would save thousands more lives then would quarantining infected people and vaccinating their contacts (162: 21).

Mammograms on trial New controversy about old data had physicians, women, and policy analysts struggling to decide whether mammography reduces deaths from breast cancer (161: 264).

Targeted therapies Tailoring prescriptions according to a person's genes may help reduce side effects and enable doctors to deliver more personalized medicine (162: 171 *). Another approach to individualizing therapy is to monitor molecular and cellular changes in cancer cells as people respond to cancer therapies (161: 139).

Healing hormone A hormone called erythropoietin, long used to treat anemia, also seems to protect against nerve damage and holds promise as a new therapy for stroke and spinal cord injury (162: 296).

Acetaminophen action The discovery of an enzyme that scientists are calling cyclooxygenase-3, which is disabled by acetaminophen, might explain why this over-the-counter drug can stop pain and fever but not inflammation (162: 180). Another study showed that women who take acetate minophen or ibuprofen for headaches boost their chances of developing high blood pressure (162: 278).

Activating AIDS New studies suggested that a natural alerting of immune cells to foreign invaders could explain why infection with HIV progresses to AIDS more quickly in some people than in others (161: 360).

Diabetes drug A drug fashioned from a mouse antibody halted the progression of diabetes in children and young adults newly diagnosed with the disease (161: 339 *).

Chill out Icing down patients whose hearts had stopped boosted their chances of survival and prevent brain damage (161: 115).

Resistant bacteria Viruses that destroy bacteria protected mice from antibiotic-resistant bacteria (161: 23).

Fat chance Research showed that drugs being tested against cancer because they thwart new blood vessel growth might also be a treatment for obesity (162: 67 *).

MS cause? A decade-long study bolstered the link between the Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis by showing that the common infection is more active in people who later develop the nerve disease (161: 4).

Firefighter health Relatively few of the New York firefighters involved in rescue and recovery after the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001 developed chronic coughs and respiratory problems, but among those who did, the problems seem unusually severe (162: 222).

Nerve signals A study showed that Parkinson's disease damages nerve endings in the heart, kidneys, and thyroid gland, which may explain dizziness and fainting in people with this neuromuscular disease (161: 293). In a lab test, alcohol made some pain-generating nerves trigger more easily than normal (161: 294).

Breathe deeply Ten years after the discovery of the gene that, when mutated, causes cystic fibrosis, researchers still struggled to understand why deadly lung infections are so common in people with the disease (161: 59).

Slim pickings A new compound mimicked the effects of an extremely low-calorie diet and lowered the incidence of diabetes and heart disease in monkeys (161: 77). Severely restricting their calorie consumption kept some dogs living about 22 months longer than nondieting canines (161: 291).

Snooze and lose? Sleeping 8 to 10 hours a night doesn't necessarily translate into a longer life (161: 173). However, new evidence suggested that chronic lack of sleep might be as damaging as poor nutrition and physical inactivity in the development of chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (162: 152 *).

In silico medicine To design better drugs and medical care, researchers are increasingly turning to computer simulations of patients and treatments (162: 378 *).

Biking problem Men who maintained grueling mountain bicycling programs were apt to have lower sperm counts and more testicular damage than nonbikers were (162: 355 *).

Risky genes Researchers found genes linked to prostate cancer (161: 51 *; 162: 205), aggressive breast cancers (161: 68; 161: 259), and lung cancer (161: 254). They also found a mutation that can predispose women to uterine growths called fibroids (161:149).

Gross medicine Research on probiotic bacteria--living microbes that confer health benefits when intentionally introduced into the body--offered growing medical promise (161: 72 *).

Kiss and tell A kiss can trigger allergic reactions to molecules carried on a person's lips (162: 40 *).

Help against herpes Scientists identified a new class of compounds that stops herpes simplex virus from replicating (161: 227 *).

Smoke and SIDS Nicotine impairs a molecule that's necessary for arousing people and other animals from sleep, an effect that could account for the heightened risk of sudden infant death syndrome in babies born to women who smoked during pregnancy (162: 163).

Salty story Researchers found that babies who tolerate a salty flavor have higher blood pressure on average than do their less tolerant counterparts (162: 101).

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