SALT LAKE CITY – Researchers at Brigham Young University are trying to unlock some of the mysteries surrounding the virus that causes AIDS with a trio of studies addressing unusual cases involving a set of twins, a failed vaccine and a protein "stop sign."
The twin identical baby boys received a tainted transfusion and both became HIV-positive a few years ago.
Now, one of the twins has a near-normal immune system and pretty good health, while the other boy is five years behind him on the growth chart and has experienced a number of complications.
That provocative difference became the foundation of one of the studies, as researchers led by BYU biology department chairman Keith Crandall try to figure out how the virus changed in each twin. They've been joined in the study by scientists at the National Cancer Institute.
Crandall said there are competing theories about the differences in their clinical outcomes. One theory is that natural selection drives it, so the results should be similar. The other holds that random genetics plays a role and it therefore cannot be predicted.
A second study focuses on an HIV vaccine scientists in Thailand were trying to develop that proved ineffective. Crandall said they hope samples from that case will help them learn more about how the virus evolved and whether vaccinations to guard against HIV show promise.
"I think the HIV community is still split in terms of how to pursue treatment against HIV infection," Crandall told the Deseret News.
"There is a strong camp that thinks vaccine is still the way to go. We need to do more intelligent vaccine design," carefully considering everything they've learned in other attempts to create a vaccine that works.
"Others say no way," he said. "The focus needs to be on drug therapy. But the virus tends to hide out in places where drugs can't get to them."
The final study is led by Greg Burton, chairman of BYU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Xueyuan Zho, a student at the University of Colorado's Health Sciences department. They confirmed an earlier report that a naturally occurring protein prevents HIV from multiplying. But they've gone further to explain how the protein works, not just what happens.
"The importance of this study is that we moved ahead from earlier research. The effect was known, but we showed the mechanism," Burton said.
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private at the same time. For their senior thesis project, the industrial-design majors teamed up to devise a new way to travel up and down New York's Hudson River Drive. "We wanted the traveler to have privacy, but also be part of a community," Benhabib says. To that end, their proposed system is made up of a series of autonomous one-person pods. Riders can pick-up or drop-off a pod at designated kiosks along the predetermined route on Manhattan's West Side, just as they would, say, use a subway station or bus stop. Operation of the vehicles is automated through an intuitive onboard computer, allowing passengers to travel leisurely.
His dream machine is a 6-foot-wide, 10-foot-long battery-powered microcar that can seat four people. To put that size in perspective: It's shorter than a MINI Cooper but longer than a smart fortwo. It is propelled by electric motors placed inside each wheel. In addition to regenerative braking, the car's batteries are also charged through kinetic energy. The vehicle's suspension system was inspired by Seiko's Kinetic Drive Technology, which is used in the company's current generation of watches. "This system provides sufficient energy to drive their watches with the flick of the wrist," Canty explains. "Similar technology can be utilized to convert physical suspension travel into electricity, which charges the vehicle's battery packs and extends its range. Hypothetically, as the vehicle goes further, the further it goes."
