(Reuters) - Scientists searching for the Holy Grail of a vaccine against the incurable AIDS virus say recent encouraging steps should now galvanize efforts to use limited funds in smarter ways to drive the field forward.

International AIDS vaccine advocates said recent studies showing first evidence of vaccine-induced protection in humans and evidence that drugs designed to treat AIDS can also be used for prevention were signs of a "renaissance" in the search.

(Reuters) - New AIDS plans released by the United Nations and the U.S. government on Tuesday stress smarter, targeted spending as a way to keep up the fight against the pandemic during a global recession.

Even Bill Gates, the multi-billionaire Microsoft founder who has used his foundation's fortune to kick-start many an AIDS program, said money is too tight to think of much new spending.

(Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration needs greater authority, more cooperation from other agencies and must do more scientific research to help make the U.S. food supply safer, the General Accountability Office said on Monday.

The FDA also needs to do more to help consumers navigate the maze of food supplements on the market and requires more power to regulate them, the GAO said.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Cancer survivors might want to try yoga to sleep better and have more energy, according to a new study that will be presented at a meeting in early June.

"Physicians and oncologists are often uncomfortable advising patients who want to use therapies that are complementary to standard cancer therapy," Dr. Douglas Blayney, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, said in an interview.

"Here we have a studied intervention, one that has been subjected to clinical trials and, lo and behold, it seems to be beneficial," added Blayney, who was not involved in the new research.

For the study, researchers randomly assigned more than 400 cancer survivors to one of two groups. Most had been treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer.

One group did gentle Hatha yoga and restorative yoga -- including special postures and breathing and mindfulness exercises -- twice a week for a month. The other was only monitored, following standard practice.

Those who did yoga were able to cut back on sleeping pills and slept better, as measured by a 22 percent increase in sleep quality on a commonly used scale. That was nearly twice the improvement of survivors who didn't do the exercises.

Yoga also cut fatigue by close to half, and led to a small increase in quality of life.

That is good news for cancer patients, said Karen Mustian of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, who led the study. "We really don't have any good remedies for fatigue for cancer survivors," she told Reuters Health.

Although patients may take drugs to help them sleep, such medications have side effects and aren't usually long-lasting. That led Mustian's team to look for alternatives.

How yoga achieves its relaxing effects isn't completely clear.

"It may be promoting social bonding," Mustian said, adding that preliminary studies have suggested it could also lower stress hormones.

For cancer survivors seeking help from yoga, Mustian recommends looking for Yoga Alliance-certified instructors, especially those who have experience with people dealing with illness. She also stressed that the results may not apply to all forms of yoga.

"A physician can say with some confidence," Blayney said, "yes, this kind of yoga program may be useful."

(With reporting by Maggie Fox and Julie Steenhuysen)

SOURCE: American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, June, 2010.