— GlaxoSmithKline has announced that beginning next spring it will make drugs cheaper in emerging economies. “My preference is not a high price and 100 units of profit for 100 patients, but to drop the price and make 100 of profit from 500 patients,” Abbas Hussain, head of emerging markets at company was quoted as saying. Score one for common sense. (FT)

— Now that the travel ban for visitors to the US with HIV has been lifted (a shocking 22 years after it was instated!), the International AIDS Society is all geared up to bring its biennial conference to Washington, DC. The location will help put HIV/AIDS high on the US agenda for many reasons, not least of which because it will take place in an election year. (IAS)

— Whenever a new drug is released, there’s always plenty of attention paid to whether it’s safe for pregnant women. But more attention needs to be given to reducing known risks: Women—presumably unaware of the side effects—are taking drugs known to cause birth defects when they become pregnant. (Reuters)

— Pigs have a penchant for wallowing in the mud, and it seems to serve them well. Those that get dirty living outdoors have healthier gut flora than their counterparts who live in isolation. The study comparing these pigs also found a link between dwelling in the dirt and reduced signaling of genes involved in inflammation. (Nature News)

Image: Flickr/TwoShortPlanks via Creative Commons