Scientists Examine HIV’s Effect On Immune System

A study by researchers from Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and published in PLoS Medicine has found that upon infection "three lines of attack by the immune system are quickly neutralized by HIV," findings they hope "will provide a better understanding of how to develop a vaccine to protect against the virus," the Raleigh News & Observer reports. The study, lead by Duke's Barton Haynes, showed that HIV, "once considered a slow if stealthy invader, actually works incredibly fast at disarming key immune fighters in the body." Haynes said scientists still have a difficult task in developing a vaccine, adding, "It would have to be different than any other vaccine made" (Avery, 7/7).