HIV gets a makeover: A few adjustments to the AIDS virus could alter the course of research

The slow pace of AIDS research can be pinned, in no small part, on something akin to the square-peg-round-hole conundrum. The HIV-1 virus won’t replicate in monkey cells, so researchers use a monkey virus — known as SIVmac, or the macaque version of simian immunodeficiency virus — to test potential therapies and vaccines in animals. But therapies and vaccines that are effective on SIV don’t necessarily translate into human success.

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<p><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news79624332.html">HIV gets a makeover: A few adjustments to the AIDS virus could alter the course of research</a></p> <p>The slow pace of AIDS research can be pinned, in no small part, on something akin to the square-peg-round-hole conundrum. The HIV-1 virus won’t replicate in monkey cells, so researchers use a monkey virus — known as SIVmac, or the macaque version of simian immunodeficiency virus — to test potential therapies and vaccines in animals. But therapies and vaccines that are effective on SIV don’t necessarily translate into human success.</p>