important hiv news

[mellowtigger]

Two important genetic discoveries announced today.

1) It's happened before with TRIM5 gene

Monkeys have, more than once, evolved a genetic defense to lentiviruses (which includes HIV). "An intriguing possibility is that the newly formed genes prevented infection by prehistoric viruses related to modern AIDS viruses. If so, this could mean that AIDS-

Comments

[that_dang_otter]

A substantial fraction of all animal genomes consist of "dead" retroviruses that entered the germ line but were rendered inactive by natural selection. Retroviruses have been infecting animals for hundreds of millions of years, and have shaped their evolution considerably

[furr_a_bruin]

Could the issues you mention be why there isn't a lot of interest (from what I can see) in studying long-term non-progressors? If LTNPs are that way because of a genetic quirk that isn't going to be exploitable in helping other people against HIV, the lack of interest in studying LTNPs becomes more comprehensible.

[that_dang_otter]

Why do you think there isn't interest in non-progressors? I hear news about that subject fairly regularly. If there's anything that limits it, maybe it's that most of the interesting studies have already been done?

[furr_a_bruin]

Because ever since I found out I was one, I've been trying to find a study I might participate in ... and I haven't been able to find anything I could get to - say in LA or the Bay Area. You're right in that doesn't correlate to no interest in the subject, I phrased that badly. But one would think it would be easier to find something like that to participate in.