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Researchers Discover Gene That Blocks HIV
stemceller writes to tell us that a team of researchers at the University of Alberta claims to have discovered a gene capable of blocking HIV thereby preventing the onset of full blown AIDS. "Stephen Barr, a molecular virologist in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, says his team has identified a gene called TRIM22 that can block HIV infection in a cell culture by preventing the assembly of the virus. 'When we put this gene in cells, it prevents the assembly of the HIV virus," said Barr, a postdoctoral fellow. "This means the virus cannot get out of the cells to infect other cells, thereby blocking the spread of the virus.'"
Funny you should say "Holy crap"
Isn't messing about with the crap hole what started this nastiness in the first place?
You're using her as bait, Master!
Let's also not forget that a *single* person (male or female) who doesn't think much of the consequences of him/her having sex that is infected will be a fatal blow to your "cure". You cannot reliably prevent infections without a massive, completely non-corrupt police state. In other words : it can't be done in america, and it can't be done in any of the police states either (they're too corrupt for this to work).
... your "cure" doesn't stand a chance in the real world. You *are* going to miss infected people and they *are* going to infect others, which will immediately kill any effects you may have accomplished, since you're not testing everyone for infection.
In other words
Even if you tested everyone, and kill any positive match, you'd simply select yourself an aidsvirus that doesn't register on the test.
No there is another way to kill of aids. You hint at it, but don't follow to conclusion. Just infect everybody (or simply enough, any serious percentage of infections will probably cause the same result, say 10% of people, geographically spread and random) and let nature take it's course. In short, unleash the full power of the genetic algorithm that builds human bodies upon the problem of "aids". After that is done it will no longer be possible to infect anyone, and humanity itself will be selected out for immunity to aids. *That's* the way to change dna. Once this initial action is taken, every malicious person (or normal person) will simply help the cure to arrive faster by lowering even further the vulnerable pool of humans.
*And* if this fails, humanity would have lost the battle with aids anyway in the long run.
Of course that only works if you accept the massive casualties it will cause (still probably less massive than letting aids exist, but 10% of the deaths that would normally occur over 1000's of years, compressed into 1 year will still seem like a 10000% rise in the number of deaths). But it will drop of *very* quickly after an initial wave.
1) don't stick needles into yourself unless they've been sterilized.
2) don't have casual sex
3) form a longstanding bond with someone to the point where you actually get to know them and what kind of person they are before interpenetrating genetalia with them.
4) treat your sexual partner with love, respect, and faithfulness so they are unlikely to want to seek satisfaction elsewhere. This may actually require you to: do things that you don't want, just because they enjoy them; think of the feelings of another before and as superior to your own in importance; and generally stop being a selfish, hedonistic individual.
I know some of those seem nearly impossible, but trust me, they are doable.
There, pretty much all AIDS is prevented.
Now, can we quit shilly-shallying with a 'disease' that's almost entirely self-inflicted, and move on to diseases that are worth curing?
-Styopa