GOOD NEWS

AIDS virus image

Groundbreaking research by scientists at Florida State University has produced remarkable three-dimensional images of the AIDS virus and the protein spikes on its surface that allow it to bind and fuse with human immune cells. Findings from this AIDS research could boost the development of vaccines that will thwart infection by targeting and crippling the sticky HIV-1 spike proteins. In fact, said principal investigator and FSU Professor Kenneth H. Roux, at least two laboratories already are crafting vaccine candidates based on preliminary results uncovered by his team of structural biologists. Those results are described in the journal Nature.

Cavity vaccine

Two researchers at the Forsyth Institute have made significant advances in research to develop a vaccine against cavities. Dental caries is an infectious disease that occurs when microorganisms accumulate on the teeth, especially in the presence of sucrose (sugar). The researchers have discovered key molecules that can stimulate a human immune response and has successfully conducted immunisation trials in animal models. The global epidemic of dental caries (cavities) highlights the growing imperative to develop a vaccine to prevent cavities, the researchers write in the journal Nature Reviews Immunology.

BAD NEWS

Ignorant diabetics

One-third of adults with undiagnosed diabetes still don’t know they have it, according to a survey conducted in the US. The journal Diabetes Care says type 2 diabetes accounts for up to 95 per cent of all diabetes cases. Pre-diabetes, which usually has no symptoms, is serious because many people with the condition develop type 2 diabetes in the next 10 years. Also, pre-diabetes substantially raises the risk of a heart attack or stroke even if type 2 diabetes does not develop.

Transplant deaths

Seven transplant recipients have been killed by a rodent-borne virus that they apparently acquired from donated and infected human organs. The New England Journal of Medicine says seven out of eight infected transplant recipients died from lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) that they received with donated organs. The organs came from two donors, who were infected with LCMV. One donor had acquired the virus from a pet hamster and the other from unknown sources.