Today’s dose is dour, with new risk factors for breast cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, losses in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and a major blow to generics maker Teva. If you need to relax, though, there is some surprising news on aromatherapy and acupuncture.

— A Nevada judge has ordered Teva, the world’s largest generics manufacturer, to pay $356 million for its alleged role in a Hepatitis C epidemic. One man claimed he was infected with the virus because vials of Teva’s anesthetic propofol were reused between patients (AP). For more on Teva, check out last weekend’s New York Times profile, as well as our Q&A with chief executive Shlomo Yanai.

— Following battle, soldiers might not smell either victory or defeat; they might smell the calming aroma of lavender instead. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says the Pentagon is testing aromatherapy, acupuncture and other unspecified forms of alternative medicine among soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder. Speaking to wives of servicemen this past weekend, Gates said the experiments have thus far yielded “some serious results.” (Reuters)

— Researchers have identified five new gene variants that increase the risk of breast cancer. The 18 total that have been discovered account for an estimated 8% of familial breast cancer risk (The Guardian). Another Nature Genetics study identified seven new alleles that increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, bringing the total to more than 30. (Reuters)

— The International AIDS Society (IAS) is calling for better protection of HIV professionals following the imprisonment of Maxim Popov, who, according to the IAS, was sentenced to seven years in Uzbekistan largely because of his controversial HIV prevention efforts. In other AIDS news, countries like Uganda might also need better support, with global funding drying up and more and more people going without medication. (NYT)

Image by Horia Varlan via Flickr Creative Commons