Progress in finding a cure for HIV/AIDS

In collaboration with our British counterparts across the pond, scientists in London and the US have solved a crucial piece of the puzzle in finding a cure for AIDS. After 20 years of research, scientists have grown a crystal that allows them to see the enzyme integrase. When someone is infected with HIV or another retrovirus, the integrase enzyme is used to copy its genetic information in to their DNA. Although current HIV and retrovirus drugs are used to target integrase, scientists were never fully sure how the drugs prevented the spread of HIV. With this high-quality crystal, scientists can clearly see how integrase inhibing drugs work, how to improve them, and how to prevent integrase from becoming resistant. As scientists gain a better understanding of how various HIV/AIDS treatment drugs operate, they can begin to work on a drug that will effectively cure someone of HIV. To read more about this remarkable crystal and how scientist discovered it, visit: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100201/hl_nm/us_aids_hiv_enzyme.