Anti-HIV Virus Developed

liam193 writes "Wired News is reporting that Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory may have developed a virus that fights the HIV virus. According to the article, 'It took Adam Arkin and David Schaffer just $200,000 and a grad student to develop a potential treatment for AIDS. And that scares them.'"

Comments

But why does it work?

[Slashdot Admin]

Ok... There seem to be a lot of misunderstandings about how this works. I'll see if I can clear some of them up. Much of the following is a simplification, so please don't flame me about technicalities. If you want more information on this, including some on how exactly the Anti-HIV virus works, check here: an extensive article on HIV and Anti-HIV and how they work

What is a Virus? How does it work?

A virus is a protein sheath (called a capsid) covering genetic information. The protein sheath varies in size and shape, the most famous being the T4 Bacteriophage (picture [sc.edu] on the bar on the left). Simply put, the genetic information can be in the form of RNA or DNA. The virus latches onto a host cell and injects its genetic material through the plasma membrane.

Viruses all have different strategies at this point, depending on their structure and target cells.

The most insidious, the retroviruses (of HIV fame), incorporate their genome into the host cell's. When the host cell copies its own DNA, in the process of normal cell division, it copies the code for the virus. Each daughter cell resulting from this mitotic division carries the virus latent in its own DNA. They now, in their normal life cycle, become factories for the retrovirus, pumping out more and more protein encased genetic sequences. Propagation is very thorough.

A simpler virus might only borrow the mechanisms of the cell to replicate itself. The virus would use DNA polymerases and associated enzymes to copy the genome for the viral offspring and RNA polymerase to transcribe mRNA molecules to translate to proteins for the viral capsid. The baby virii are then assembled (the DNA wrapped in the protective capsid) and they exit the cell. Sometimes this results in the death of the cell, other times it does not. The virus doesn't much care whether the cell survives once it has been copied.

This is the basic principle this virus works by.

DONT CLICK THE LINK

[Anonymous Coward]

That page redirects to a shitfilled popupfest. which also posts your ip and your clipboard contents on a stats page.

$200000

[dotwaffle]

Is that to say the drug companies have been withholding such information? It's common knowledge that a lot of side effects in drugs could be removed, but they aren't as then you have to buy chemicals to counteract those side effects! More money!

Isn't it about time people started funding moral/ethical pharmaceutacal companies?