Let's not over simply or FOOL ourselfs! HIV WILL be the nearly impossible target! Unlike other viruses that we have developed vaccinations against. HIV hides and steals the same the LIPID coating that your cells have on exiting..thereby argurable being a STEALTH VIRUS to your immune system! ..much like identity theft.

The only chance your immune system would have to recognize the HIV particles is during the first seconds,minutes,hours, day of infection but yet it takes the body what...3 to 5 days to correctly manufacture antibodies to it?..by this time the virus has already infected uncountable cells and is stealth to your immune system.

Not trying to be negative but realistic. I get the feeling although a vaccination seems like a great idea...we must use a multi-targeted approach to his ongoing program and not waste money and resources on the billion dollar scale into a currently impossible VACCINATION!!!

We have to disrupt and destroy the viruses ability to operate effectively at every concievable step in the life cycle and to aid the immune system into correctly identifying it as a target for destruction.

A fundamental problem is the size of the virus particle....it is very very small compared to the T-cells. It has a stealth coating..I'm not so sure I even buy the "lock and key" mechanism myself...If you look at bubbles..they merge together on contact..i think this is what the HIV particle does on such a small scale...i don't totally buy the lock and key concept...and HIV infects other cells to..not just T-cell. It might even puncture the cells or latch onto them with the viral protein spikes that stick out! It might even work like velco...i'm just not totally buying into "lock and key" at this point in time.

Lets NOT waste countless money on a VACCINATION that might never work! It is the wrong path and the wrong direction! We are talking something that is stealth and INTEGRATES into the cells.

If we could destroy the viral LIPID coating while the virus is in the blood without harming natural cells, polymerase chain fusion reaction to destroy unstable viral RNA, flag the RNA for destruction within the cell, use more EFFECTIVE protease inhibitors, boost the immune system in general, find some critical flaws in the viral code much like computer hackers do!..once we know more and understand processes we don't yet have a clue about.

We are not yet smart enough to tackle this problem effectively..we don't have the tools, knowledge or know how. I can however say i think GRID Technology is a potential GREAT thing if used effeciently and effectively. This gives us a pontential defensive fighting position in the trenches to buy some time until we can gain more knowledge of the this adaptive enemy....and if nothing else this shows that atleast a small percentage of the worlds population can come together for a common good cause!

I've seen these nieve researchers in the news...always being wrong every time they say a virus can't do something! "A virus can't jump from an animal to a human"...yea sure...then what is H5N1 ?

What? You say a virus is NOT ALIVE?...A virus is dead huh?..hmmm, either were pretty dumb or a virus is very smart :)

My moto: "never trust a virus!"

Impossible Vaccination Link: http://www.hivvaccineresearch.com/science.html

Hi rbolo28,
There is a lot we do not know, but we are learning. For example, some primates seem to be immune to some retroviruses because of some proteins in their cells which interfere with the reproduction of those retroviruses. The retrovirus can penetrate into the bloodstream, then penetrate into the cell, but then it is inactivated. We can trace the evolutionary tree of chance mutations of this protective system and see which primates are susceptible to certain retroviruses and which are not.

So a retrovirus like HIV is not omnipotent but is limited to only some primates. Unfortunately, we are vulnerable to it, but it is proof that it is beatable. Nobody knows how to repair/improve our immune system to handle HIV, but it is not a hopeless task.

On a different matter; one of defining life. Although it is pragmatically reasonable to describe a virus as alive, it has no metabolism. All the energy stored in its protein sheath is derived from the cell that creates it. It is like a land mine, strewn about in large numbers and capable of killing just like a carnivore. Even though we describe lions and tigers as 'alive', we do not consider land mines to be living creatures. Which is why some scientists balk at calling a virus a living organism.

Lawrence

Just like to add another thought i had..my friend told me it took something like 300 years to prove that washing your hands was a good , effective thing to do !!! If you couldn't see something back then it didn't exist ! Ignorance might be bliss but it doesn't save lives or help the situation.

I have had unconventional experiences in my life...do i dare mention my friend might be psychic and she tells me knowledge the world doesn't know yet? She can see no cure in sight for HIV...although i believe everything is subject to change...that is my faith.

I understand the scientific community needs to be credible and hard nosed to fund research and not be laughed at by the public but on the other hand i feel we need to maintain open minds, flexibility and to adapt to new challenges and theories as needed or dictated by mission requirements.

I'm hungry and eat some pizza..mmm..maybe, do my online homework on a exciting Saturday night here in ABQ,NM...

Dear rbolo et al.,

Thanks for the interesting replies. This turned out to be quite an interesting thread.

Referring to your last message... I am an optimist as far as finding a cure for the HIV infection. I think we will find a way that will address the mutation factor (possibly quite ingenious). I wonder who will get the Nobel for that discovery?

The problem is that we do not entirely understand the HIV virus. Once we understand it more, we will be able to find a way to wipe it out. So, one more idea is to have a project that deals with disrupting the HIV INTEGRASE. What do you and the others think?

I believe that one day, from a manageable chronic infection, it will become a curable one. It's just a matter of time. Just look at TB and the other diseases, only 100 years ago they were incurable and fatal. Now, about an HIV vaccine... I don't know.

And then, following the Laws of Natural selection, another more "cunning" virus will probably appear... And we will have to start the fight again.

Maybe so, but TB must be coming back. Doctors are screening for it again. Russian prisons are full of TB, HIV, etc. etc.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3713858.stm