— Medical researchers have a reason to rise and shine this morning: President Obama announced his 2011 budget, proposing a $1 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health—though some were hoping for more—along with $286 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to conduct comparative effectiveness research.The president’s budget also includes $222 million for autism research and $3 billion for HIV/AIDS prevention. (Reuters)

— A group of European geriatricians are calling ageism on clinical trials. The EU-funded group, called PREDICT, says that the elderly are underrepresented in trials for drugs they frequently use, leading to less-effective and less-safe treatments. (BBC)

— In an apparent first, the US Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to dermatologist Leslie Baumann for her promotion of a then-unapproved anti-wrinkle drug. The warning is causing a few wrinkles of its own, as the FDA hasn’t previously cracked down on individual investigators, who frequently discuss their new treatments with the media. (NYTimes)

— Scientists have crystallized the structure of integrase, the enzyme that inserts HIV’s genetic information into host DNA. The findings could help improve current medications that block integrase, such as Merck’s Isentress, as well as lead to new ones. (Reuters)

Image by Ethan Prater via Flickr Creative Commons