Today, the BBCannounced that, proportional to the total number of new HIV infections in the UK, the percentage of newly-infected gay men has doubled in the past ten years. This means gay men are still disproportionately at risk.
But, also today, some better news regarding HIV came along. A U.S. research team, comprised of scientists from UC Davis and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, has for the first time filmed HIV infecting a cell. And, in doing so, they may have found another avenue of attack against the virus.
Keep reading and watch the video of the HIV infection after the jump.
The study was made possible after experts created a molecular clone of infectious HIV and inserted a protein into its genetic code which glows green when exposed to blue light.
This allowed scientists to see the cells on digital video, and capture the way HIV-infected T-cells interact with uninfected ones.
Researchers found that the virus is transferred from infected cells to healthy ones in a previously unknown way. They noted that when an infected cell came into contact with a healthy one, a bridge was created between them, called a virological synapse.
Study author Dr Thomas Huser said: “Our findings may explain why attempts to develop an HIV vaccine have so far been unsuccessful.”
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