Three-Dimensional Structure of HIV Revealed

Mutatis Mutandis writes "The BBC is reporting that a team of scientists from Oxford, Heidelberg and Munich has created the first accurate three-dimensional images of the HIV virus. The virus was found to have an average diameter of 125 nanometers, well below the wavelength of visible light. In the past the structure of viruses with a regular structure has been produced by 3D reconstruction techniques that work on a set of electron microscopy images of different viruses, but the irregular structure of HIV does not allow this. Scientists have now used a tomography technique that employs a series of images taken from a single virus, somewhat similar to the better known X-Ray CAT scan, but on a quite different scale." Structure also has a video of the 3-d rendering available for download. Relatedly an anonymous reader writes "A research team at Brown University has genetically modified bacteria found in yogurt so that the bugs produce a protein proven to block HIV infection in monkeys. The results offer hope for a microbicide that can prevent the spread of HIV, which now affects about 40 million people."

Comments

Science Triumps Agai... err...

[Humorless Coward.]

...zzzz....

All this, just to say the scientists can now _see_ the virus?

I guess that tricky wavelegnth of visible light thing had them befuddled.

No sig.
No sig necessary.

Re:Monkeys??

[hcob$]

Aren't most ID proponents (like even many old-fashin creationists) keen on the idea that some evolution is possible, microevolution or maybe even some new species, but that certain changes are too big "leaps" (the human eye being a popular example)?

That's of course BS, but the interesting part for someone really believing in ID would of course be -- wouldn't the jump between easily infecting birds and easily infecting humans be such a leap? One way is of course to say "no, it's not a leap", but any other explanation, like intermixing with an existing human virus, would naturally also burst their little bubble on that ID would be needed to explain the variety of life at all.

Ohhhh, nice straw man tactic there... "Here's my oposition's argument: blah, blah, blah." "And now, this is why that argument is wrong: Blah blah more freaking Blah!"

But honestly, debate the topics, not the easily defeated topic you want your opponent to stand for.

Most ID proponents are for any argument which will support their position in a public debate & let them get religion into science classes. They don't really care whether they believe that argument, as long as they can fool the public.

That argument sounds errily simlar to what can be said about the litigation nation of the left. I don't like that cross, I'll sue you till you take it down or go broke. You can't state your opinon of me (even though I call you a liar, bigot, racist, and any number of things) or I'll SUE YOU! I don't like this, I don't like that, Sue, sue, sue, SUE!!!!!!!!

Don't get me wrong. The right is just as bad with it's, "This is God's Punishment/Plan/Will." If you read your nice little Bible, tell me this: How is man supposed to know the Plan/Will of God? Isn't that elevating yourself to the same status as your deity??

I know this is going way offtopic here, but... Why, why, why, why, why do evolution and Creationism/ID have to be mutually exclusive? Why can't those(like me) who believe in God think that, "Yes, God put everything in motion, but he gave everything in that creation 'free will' (for lack of a better term for chemical processes, motion of atoms, bacteria, virus co-mingling) to evolve into the universe we know today?"

Maybe I'm an old fogey and just think that there is always room for the almagamation of multiple ideas.... Oh, and to the far RIGHT and far LEFT, GET OVER YOURSELVES AND START THINKING FOR YOURSELF!

Gay guys...

[Nuclear Elephant]

Gay guys...eating yogurt?

Re:All these 'almost there' cures announcements...

[papa248]

People run around like headless chickens when a few die of mad cow or whatever but nobody cares about AIDS killing thousands daily.

I call bullshit. AIDS does not come after me, infect me and my family, and kill me. I personally have to do something to infect myself with AIDS like do drugs or have unprotected sex. You're damn right that I don't care about AIDS killing thousands daily, since in MOST of the cases, those people killed themselves.