Cholesterol and HIV

A recent study from George Washington University showed that an experimental compound with a stimulating effect on cells to release cholesterol acted also as anti-HIV agent in mice. This compound, only known as TO-901317, stimulated the production of cholesterol that the HIV virus had suppressed, and acted as an inhibitor to the virus itself inside the cell, according to the results from this research.

Anti-malaria program: A Success Story

An anti-malaria program that was launched by the World's Bank in Eritrea (Africa) has resulted in a reduction in the incidence of malaria by 85%, a great success story indeed. Malaria is a disease spreads by mosquitoes and is often deadly if not treated properly.

An interesting link: Ice Cream and HIV

Ice cream is an emulsion (a dispersion of fat particles in a "watery" environment). In order for the ice cream to form, most manufacturers use an emulsifying agent, known chemically as glycerol monolaurate (GML). In a new published study by the esteemed British science journal Nature, researchers have found that applying GML gel inside the vagina of monkeys infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)--a cousin to HIV, has resulted in blocking the SIV acute infection in all five monkey tested (in the control group "no GML was used", four of the five animals became infected). Although this may be a hopeful finding, further research in human is necessary to ascertain the efficacy and safety of this method.

How do HIV viral particles gain entry inside cells?

A new study published in the journal Cell revealed the way human immunodeficiency virus gains entry to inside the cell. Previous theory was that after the HIV virus attaches itself to the receptors on the cell surface, it fuses with cell membrane to enter the cell. However, the newly published findings proposed that HIV viral particles enter the cell by a well-known process in biology--endocytosis (cell membrane engulfs the viral particle and brings it inside the cell). This mechanism of "uptake" by the cell is as old as biology itself. It turned out that there was nothing fancy or new about HIV in gaining entry inside the cell; it simply uses the good old fashion method--endocytosis.