Just off of the primary highways of clinical HIV research -- away from your PARTNERs and your NA-ACCORDs -- a dizzying array of scientific avenues, side streets, and cul-de-sacs feature studies that may be comparatively small in scope, but are nonetheless vitally important in incrementally improving our ability to practice effective HIV prevention and treatment. We head down those slightly smaller streets for our featured studies this week, which include:

• A reminder that not all opioid prescriptions are unwise -- such as, for instance, when used by people with chronic pain to improve HIV virologic suppression rates.
• New data pointing toward a wide range of racial, gender, age, and risk group disparities in HIV care -- and suggesting that tailored interventions are the best solution.
• Signs that prophylactic antibiotic use is on the rise among men who have sex with men (MSM) utilizing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as a way to prevent non-HIV sexually transmitted infections.
• Strategies to help care providers navigate ambiguous HIV test results among people taking PrEP.

Let's take a drive through town to examine each of these results in more detail. To beat HIV, you have to follow the roads of science!

Barbara Jungwirth is a freelance writer and translator based in New York. Follow Barbara on Twitter: @reliabletran.

Myles Helfand is the executive editor and general manager of TheBody.com and TheBodyPRO.com. Follow Myles on Twitter: @MylesatTheBody.