— Next year’s seasonal flu vaccine will include the pandemic H1N1 strain, along with the current influenza A and B strains, the World Health Organization announced today. Officials say, however, that individual countries can still determine whether to administer the vaccines in a single shot or separately. (Reuters)

— An international team of scientists has sequenced the genomes of five southern Africans: four San hunter-gatherer tribesmen and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the South African civil-rights activist of Bantu descent. With these first genomes from minority populations, the researchers have already found adaptations associated with living in the desert, such as gene variants for faster sprinting and avoidance of toxic plants. (NYTimes)

— The European Union is being criticized for its policy on the use of chimpanzees in research. Prompted by lobbying from animal rights activists, the European Ombudsman said he would reanalyze a 2008 report that helped craft legislation, approved by parliament last year, that restricted the use of primates but did not impose a blanket ban. Animal rights groups say that the task force behind the report ignored much of the evidence provided, and didn’t have sufficient expertise to make an informed decision. (ScienceInsider)

— According to a review in the journal Exercise Physiology, Olympic athletes, especially those in endurance sports, need at least two weeks to acclimate to high altitudes — just enough time for the games to end. What lasts longer than that? The high of winning a gold medal.

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