By donating to the AIDS/LifeCycle!

Our reader campaign is up and running—and now we need your money! But don't worry if you don't have a lot to spare. We just want $1!

See, $1 from each reader adds up to a TON of support to help end HIV and AIDS. So, click on the link (they're everywhere if you can't tell) and drop a dollar for Team Instinct's AIDS/LifeCycle effort. We promise it's the best money you'll spend all day!

For more on Team Instinct, check out our homepage here!

And for more on the $1+1 Reader campaign, give it a click here!

As the nation prepares to celebrate President Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday this weekend, healthy discussions of his still-forming legacy have popped up everywhere. One of the mars on president's record -- a criticism lofted by the LGBT community and its allies since the 80s -- is the Reagan Administration's handling of the then-burgeoning AIDS epidemic. This video, appearing all over the gay blogosphere today, reminds us of the controversy. 

We picked Bridesmaids (starring SNL's Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, and a shirtless John Hamm) as one of our most anticipated movies of 2011. Now, with its long-awaited first trailer, you get to see why we're so excited.

Are you as excited for Bridesmaids as we are after watching the trailer?

The war on HIV/AIDS might receive a new weapon in the form of a 'smart bomb' that 'blows up' HIV cells. According to researchers who published their findings in Science Translational Medicine, if human trials go as expected, the technique could be used to treat the devastating drug-resistant forms of HIV that are spreading at frightening speed.

Scientific American reports:

The molecule, known as a chimaera, is composed of two different types of RNA: a small interfering RNA (siRNA), designed to enter infected cells and block the expression of two genes that HIV needs to replicate, and an RNA sequence known as an aptamer, which binds tightly to gp120, a protein found on the surface of HIV and HIV-infected cells. The aptamer has a dual role:...

Back in the day we could have come up with a huge list of things you can do with a dollar, but it's called inflation, kids, and times have certainly changed. We're not even sure you can sneak a peek at the go-go boy for a buck anymore! But there is one thing you can do with $1 that is pretty freakin' awesome...

Because if you want in on AIDS/LifeCycle 10, this is your final chance! As previously announced, we're getting in on the fun this year by creating Team Instinct. We're making the LifeCycle and it's two beneficiaries—the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the S.F. AIDS Foundation—are charitable focus for 2011, and we're so happy to announce that the ride is nearly sold out!

Great for the cause, but not so great if you haven't signed up yet...

German scientists today announced the successful trial of an experimental new drug that combats the early infection of HIV. The drug, named VIR-576, blocks the virus from attaching itself to 95% of the cells in a newly-infected patient. 

Reports MSNBC:

The drug, being developed by small privately held Hannover-based firm VIRO Pharmaceuticals, reduced the amount of HIV infection in the blood by as much 95 percent in an early-stage trial of 18 patients. It works by preventing the virus from being able to anchor itself in human immune cells, according to the researchers, who published a study in the Science Translational Medicine journal.

"What the virus does is a bit like throwing an anchor to get hooked up to the cell," Frank Kirchhoff,...

At first it took an agonizing week. Then about 15 - 30 minutes of nervous waiting. Now getting HIV test results won't take more than a minute, thanks to a new streamlined procedure that has just received the FDA's greenlight to enter the market.

Say the makers:

“We believe the speed, accuracy, and unique technology of our 60-second HIV test will make the testing and early treatment of HIV/AIDS more efficient in all patient settings, including hospital emergency rooms and public health clinics. Additionally, our high-volume, automated manufacturing capability makes INSTI one of the most cost-effective solutions available for providers of HIV rapid testing.”

There's nothing wrong with being a one-minute man, but will the new, nearly-instant...

Preliminary results from an experimental stem-cell treatment in Germany yielded optimism that an HIV positive man was cured of the disease. Today, doctors have announced finalized confirmation of the results, arguing that the world officially has its first human cured of HIV infection.

From aidsmap:

The man received bone marrow from a donor who had natural resistance to HIV infection; this was due to a genetic profile which led to the CCR5 co-receptor being absent from his cells. The most common variety of HIV uses CCR5 as its ‘docking station’, attaching to it in order to enter and infect CD4 cells, and people with this mutation are almost completely protected against infection.

The case was first reported at the 2008 Conference on ...

A new shock campaign from the NYC Health Department portrays gay men as hosts of multiple diseases, says GLAAD, and the org wants the condom-awareness spots removed immediately. The Gay Mens Health Crisis of New York agrees with GLAAD, and has asked the Health Department to stop running these ads in the area because of concerns it could further stigmatize those living with HIV/AIDS.

But the NYC Health Department isn't budging. 

“Silence is no solution when the number of new HIV diagnoses among men having sex with other men is up by more than 50% in eight years.

“In developing this video spot, we tested various approaches in focus groups,” said a department statement. “The spot was informed by that process and by lessons learned...

A new survey in Australia arrives at what other surveys around the world have revealed: young gay men in the country are having riskier sex and not getting tested for HIV. 

The research, published in the most recent edition of Medical Journal of Australia, finds that MSM (men who have sex with men) under 35 were more likely than their older counterparts to not test for HIV infection and more likely to not inquire about their partner's status. 

"Recent focus group data have shown that younger MSM are less likely to discuss HIV and other sexually transmitted infections with peers," said Carol El-Hayek, epidemiologist at the Centre for Population Health at Australia's Burnet Institute.

"It has also been suggested that younger gay...

Though investigators have determined that Derrick Burts became infected with HIV in a nonprofessional manner in October of this year, the porn performer insists that he contracted the disease during an oral scene in gay porn. Because the only way you can get HIV is from gay men or some other ignorant faulty logic. 

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Derrick announces that his real-life girlfriend (who is also a performer in the industry) has remained negative, and industry experts investigating the case have found that all of Derrick's past costars (from both straight and gay films) have a negative status as well. But it's still the gays!

Aside from the blame game, there is some good news to arrive out of this story: Derrick...