“Toddler cured of HIV”

A 2-year-old Mississippi girl is the first child to be "functionally cured" of HIV, researchers announced Sunday. Researchers said they believe early intervention -- in this case within 30 hours of birth -- with three anti-viral drugs was key to the outcome. A "functional cure" is when the presence of the virus is so small, lifelong treatment is not necessary. The finding was announced Sunday at the 2013 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta. The unidentified girl was born HIV-positive to a mother who was not diagnosed as HIV-positive herself until just before delivery. "We didn't have the opportunity to treat the mom during the pregnancy as we would like to be able do to prevent transmission to the baby," said Dr. Hannah Gay. "We are hoping that future studies will show that very early institution of effective therapy will result in this same outcome consistently," she said.

First a meteor exploded over Russia, followed closely by an asteroid fly-by. Now, two comets are expected to put on a naked-eye spectacle for sky watchers in the Northern Hemisphere. Up first is Comet Pan-STARRS, which gets its funky name from the telescope credited with discovering it in June 2001: the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System in Hawaii. The comet is already visible through telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere, and it should swing into view over the Northern Hemisphere beginning around March 8. First a meteor exploded over Russia, followed closely by an asteroid fly-by. Now, two comets are expected to put on a naked-eye spectacle for sky watchers in the Northern Hemisphere. Up first is Comet Pan-STARRS, which gets its funky name from the telescope credited with discovering it in June 2001: the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System in Hawaii. The comet is already visible through telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere, and it should swing into view over the Northern Hemisphere beginning around March year-old man from Austin, Texas, died Sunday during the swim portion of the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco, according to race officials. "We have reason to believe the gentleman suffered from a massive cardiac event as he entered the water and began the swim," race director Bill Burke said in a statement. "Water safety noticed him immediately and initiated CPR while he was in the water and as they transferred him to land," he added. The statement did not identify the triathlete who died. 46-year-old man from Austin, Texas, died Sunday during the swim portion of the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco, according to race officials. "We have reason to believe the gentleman suffered from a massive cardiac event as he entered the water and began the swim," race director Bill Burke said in a statement. "Water safety noticed him immediately and initiated CPR while he was in the water and as they transferred him to land," he added. The statement did not identify the triathlete who died. In Other News