World News for Students of English

10-07-2019 07:00

Researchers from Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center said that they erased the HIV DNA from mice.

In a new study published last Tuesday, the scientists used CRISPR gene-editing technology and a treatment called LASER ART to eliminate the virus. They were able to remove the virus in nine of the 21 mice that they tested the CRISPR-LASER ART method on. The scientists are now testing the method on primates.

At the end of 2016, an estimated 1.1 million people had HIV in the USA, according to recent numbers from the CDC. HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system and if not treated, can turn into AIDS, which severely weakens the immune system, increasing risks of more infections and diseases.

The current available treatment is antiretroviral therapy, which stops HIV from replicating and prevents patients from developing AIDS. However, the patients are not cured and they must keep taking the pills to not get sick. The researchers hope to get an approval for a clinical trial with humans by mid-2020.

Difficult words: CDC (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), replicate (make a copy of, make more viruses), approval (an official ‘yes’ that you can do something).

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