Virus

HIV :: QUT scientists on the way to sifting out a cure for HIV

HIV may one day be able to be filtered from human blood saving the lives of millions of people, thanks to a world-first innovation by Queensland University of Technology scientists.

HIV :: Researchers discover new details about HIV-1 entry and infection

The primary targets of HIV-1 infection in the human vagina have been definitively identified in a new study published in the February 2007 issue of the journal Immunity, published by Cell Press. The findings are likely to guide development of new strategies that will prevent HIV-1 transmission.

Influenza :: Nasal spray flu vaccine reduces influenza attack rate

Nasal spray flu vaccine reduces the influenza “attack rate” in children by 55 percent when compared with a group of children who received the traditional flu shot in the arm or thigh.

Cancer :: Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic join forces to develop cancer vaccine

Two major research organizations in the Phoenix area have announced they will collaborate on an ambitious goal: Creating a vaccine to prevent the development of cancer. Researchers at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe and Mayo Clinic will use the latest developments in laboratory and clinical sciences to reach their goal — finding components in cancer that could be used to vaccinate against the occurrence of the disease.

Liver :: Liver an excellent target for cancer gene therapy using viral vectors

A featured paper in the Feb. 14 issue of Nature Cancer Gene Therapy demonstrates that cancer cells in the liver are excellent targets for gene therapy using adenoviral vectors, based upon a fundamental new understanding of the differences between cancerous and normal liver cells. The findings signal a new way to treat cancers that have spread to the liver, such as metastatic cancers of the colon and breast.

HIV :: Scientists unveil piece of HIV protein that may be key to AIDS vaccine development

In a finding that could have profound implications for AIDS vaccine design, researchers led by a team at the NIAID have generated an atomic-level picture of a key portion of an HIV surface protein as it looks when bound to an infection-fighting antibody. Unlike much of the constantly mutating virus, this protein component is stable and — more importantly, say the researchers — appears vulnerable to attack from this specific antibody, known as b12, that can broadly neutralize HIV.

HIV :: Migration played key role in HIV spread in South Africa

South Africa has one of the world?s highest rates of HIV infection. New research, led by Brown University professor Mark Lurie, shows that the movement of workers between urban and rural areas played a key role in the spread of the epidemic. Results are published in AIDS.