“Scientists have developed a new weapon against” AIDS: “a molecular mimic that invades a cell and steals essential proteins from” the H.I.V. virus that causes AIDS, reports the New York Times:
A study published in Science on Thursday reported that this viral thief prevented H.I.V. from multiplying inside of monkeys. The new therapeutic approach will soon be tested in people, the scientists said. Four or five volunteers with H.I.V. will receive a single injection of the engineered virus.” “This is imminent,” said Leor Weinberger, a virologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who led the new study.
In a normal H.I.V. infection, the virus slips into an immune cell and hijacks its host’s DNA to make copies of itself, which then burst out of the cell. After a large number of cells have been infected, the immune system collapses, causing AIDS….
[Researchers] ran an experiment on monkeys. The scientists infected the monkeys with a primate version of H.I.V. that normally kills the animals in a matter of weeks. They then gave the animals a single injection of TIPs [engineered viruses]. As they predicted, the treatment drove down the level of the virus by a factor of 10,000. Almost all of the monkeys that received the TIPs survived, showing no sign of AIDS. “They looked healthy in any way we could check,” Dr. Weinberger said.
A virus is being used to cure deafness in new gene therapy. Researchers also discovered that a plant virus could be used to save crops from root-eating pests.
Genetically-engineered skin bacteria keep some mosquitoes away. Scientists have genetically engineered a fly species to eat more waste. A genetically-modified chicken lays eggs that people allergic to eggs can eat.
Scientists have genetically engineered a cow that produces human insulin in its milk.
Genetic engineering recently produced bacon and pork that people who are allergic to red meat can eat.
A genetically-engineered apple doesn’t turn brown when you slice it, the way most apples do.
