Stephen Fry named Twitter’s most influential LGBT user in 2011

Stephen FryStephen Fry has been named the most influential LGBT Twitter user in PinkNews.co.uk’s 2011 list. He told PinkNews.co.uk: “It’s a very remarkable honour to top such a list. Thank you.

“Even if 90% of LGBT tweets are used for gossip, flirting and being quite splendidly silly there’s still at least 10% where twitter connects, affirms and vindicates, where it stands up for victims and stands up to bullies and bigots.

“Twitter can help lonely people feel part of a world where love and respect take the place of shame and ignorance.

“And the glory is, you only have to see one tweet from a cruel, bullying imbecile and you can block them out of your twitter life forever.” Fry led the rankings of the most influential LGBT Tweeters this year, beating competition from Lady Gaga, Ellen Degeneres and Perez Hilton.

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HIV Study Named '2011 Breakthrough of the Year' by Science

The journal Science has chosen the HPTN 052 clinical trial, an international HIV prevention trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, as the 2011 Breakthrough of the Year.

The study found that if HIV-infected heterosexual individuals begin taking antiretroviral medicines when their immune systems are relatively healthy as opposed to delaying therapy until the disease has advanced, they are 96 percent less likely to transmit the virus to their uninfected partners.

Findings from the trial, first announced in May, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in August. The complete top 10 list of 2011 scientific breakthroughs appears in the Dec. 23, 2011, issue of Science.

"The HPTN 052 study convincingly demonstrated that antiretroviral medications can not only treat but also prevent the transmission of HIV infection among heterosexual individuals," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "We are pleased that Science recognized the extraordinary public health significance of these study results.

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Adolescent Drinking May Be As Important A Risk Factor For Criminal Activity As Illicit Drug Use

Alcohol use has often been linked to criminal activity on the part of both perpetrators as well as victims. While this relationship has been well documented among adults, fewer studies have explored this relationship among adolescents.

A new study has found a strong relationship between drinking during adolescence and the commission of crimes and criminal victimization, for both genders. Results will be published in the March 2012 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

"This issue is extremely important because adolescents who are criminally active are significantly more likely to be adult criminals," said Michael T. French, professor of health economics at the University of Miami and corresponding author for the study.

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