New gene technique 'stops HIV in its tracks' By Steve Connor, Science Editor Friday, 8 August 2008 AFP/Getty Images HIV patients protest during an International AIDS/HIV Conference in Mexico City HIV can be stopped dead in its tracks using a revolutionary technique for "silencing" genes, a study has shown. The discovery raises the possibility of a treatment for HIV that does not involve potentially toxic anti-viral drugs. Scientists have found that RNA interference – where genes are artificially silenced using a natural molecular switch in the cell – can inhibit the replication of HIV in human blood cells. Professor Premlata Shankar of Texas Tech University, who carried out the work when she was at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said: "RNA interference has great potential as an antiviral treatment... We think it has real promise, but there is a lot more to be done." The results are the first to demonstrate the success of RNA interference in animals. Priti Kumar, of Harvard Medical School, said: "No one has demonstrated before that HIV infection can be stopped in vivo, not just in cell lines, but in animals. It implies it might work in humans." Further animal studies, however, are needed before the approach can be used on humans in clinical trials. The discovery of RNA interference won a Nobel prize in 2006. source site
Is that gene going to turn everybody into crazed zombies who eat other people and will be killed by a black guy? Seems too good to be true.
This is all sorts of good news! Even if it doesn't work out too well for humans, it's still a step forward in finding a solution!
Dude, the Doctors name is shankar. lol. You wear contacts? no. Make a knife out of contacts. Anyway, yay unprotected sex.
Are those HIV patients protesting a cure fore their dissease? I think its cool they are figuring out how to stop HIV I guess aids is next : ].......Then cancer.
I am sensing an I Am legend movie coming... We are all going to turn to zombies... Woo! But for a serious term, this would be really beneficial...
It's essentially just gene therapy, which has already been done in humans. The possibilities for gene therapy are endless, you can practically fix every single known ailment by switching in a gene that is "perfect". Basically, what this is doing is blocking the receptors on the RNA of the HIV, and the HIV cannot create any more DNA/RNA to implant into our cells. They've done this before with peoples genes that cause them ailments. You are able to block the receptors, and the genes won't be passed along, and sometimes will no longer be active. Theres a whole bunch of crap that can be done. The problem with this is that it comes in line with things like "Designer Babies" and stem cell research. It has moral issues. Should we be fixing things the God created? And what could go wrong if we do? Along with that, even that which has been tested on humans isn't 100%. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. Different peoples immune systems react the the carry viruses (manufactured viruses, of the same time often as HIV, which basically infect cells, and than implant the better gene in, cause the cell to replicate as fixed, or in this case replicate emitting the RNA blocker). This is because of blood type, and how their immune system has developed, the gene types, along with many other variables. Because of this, no set procedure can occur, and headway isn't really being made (publicly, anyway lol). It looks promising, and if it's a life or death situation, this can be a good possible solution..but so far there isn't that much to think about when it comes to this. It's something in the distant horizon. Btw..I did a Bio project on this stuff, so thats why I know that. Edit: It's the moral issues behind screwing in God's business that they are protesting. Also, I am all for gene therapy..but I just learned of this from my project.