Look like some hope could possibly be found for people who have fallen victim to HIV.
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A group of researchers in Temple University have found a way to extract the DNA of the HIV virus using a gene-editing technology. This is nothing new though. Many scientists have tried to do this for years but have failed. For example, Dr. Chen Liang of McGill University (as mentioned in the video below) tried to use gene editing to extract the DNA but the virus ended up multiplying, making it worse. He says researchers did something similar in the 80’s, when the virus first broke-out, and ended up with the same result. This research could be dangerous, as it shows that the virus could possibly develop into full-blown Aids.
But through the recent experiments at Temple University, researchers were successful in the attempt when experimenting on mice. They successfully extracted the DNA from HIV-1, the most common type of HIV. The team leader, Professor Kamel Khalili said:
“In a proof-of-concept study, we showed that our gene-editing technology can be effectively delivered to many organs of two small animal models and excise large fragments of viral DNA from the host cell genome.”
Looking forward, the team targets their research on a more varied group of animals. And maybe somewhere down the road, humans could be possible test subjects.
Let’s hope for the best yall.
