— Shall I compare thee to another drug? Please do. According to a new report, the US is lagging in comparative effectiveness research — studies that compare one treatment to another. Of the 328 studies analyzed, only 43% compared drug efficacies, while 19% looked at safety and just 2% weighed costs. (Reuters)

— A study found that circumcision made no difference in HIV infection rates among nearly 5,000 homosexual and bisexual men. The three-year study of Western populations is in stark contrast to a study of sub-Saharan heterosexual men that found a 60% reduction in infection rates over two years. (Reuters)

— To mark the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s executive order that eased restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, US lawmakers yesterday reintroduced legislation that would prevent potential policy reversals from future residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Two similar bills were previously approved by Congress, but they were vetoed by former President George W. Bush. (ScienceInsider)

— New data suggests that long-term use of bisphosphonates — osteoporosis drugs including Fosamax and Boniva — could actually harm women with the bone-thinning disease. Researchers at a meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons said they saw a higher risk of an unusual femur fracture among postmenopausal women who took the drugs for more than four years, compared to women taking vitamin D and calcium supplements (LATimes). For a possible replacement therapy to bisphosphonates, watch this video covering a paper published in this month’s Nature Medicine.

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