"AIDS Study in Mice Suggests Hope for Prevention; Doctors Now Want to Test Humans" by Malcolm Ritter

As AIDS continues to take more and more lives, scientists have been working tirelessly to discover vaccine to prevent this threatening disease.  Doctors have continually been testing new vaccines on lab rats for years and they have finally found a solution that is able to provide one hundred percent protection against HIV.  Their discovery is a protective gene that they have been developing and perfecting since 2009.  This gene has also been tested on monkeys, also with positive results.  The vaccine works by injecting the protective gene into the muscle cells; the gene will then begin to produce antibodies that are capable of neutralizing HIV strains.  Hundreds of mice have been tested and have proven to be one hundred percent protected; no signs of HIV have been seen at all.  Doctors are very hopeful about this new vaccine and are planning to start a preliminary trial on humans soon.

It is always encouraging to hear that doctors are making progress when it comes to the cure of diseases.  AIDS is not just harmful; it is a very deadly and serious disease, and it is beginning to affect more and more people.  It is very impressive that scientist have found a vaccine that completely protects mice from HIV.  Although scientists are uncertain if this vaccine will be as affective in humans, there is certainly hope.  Mice are completely different that humans, but they possess human immune system cells.  I am very please to hear about this new vaccine, and I hope it will be effective in humans so that doctors can start saving people from this terrible disease. 

"Scientists a Step Closer to Cloning Mammoth" by Kyodo

Japanese and Russian scientists have recently found evidence that could enable them to cloning the extinct mammoth.  Scientists found a perfectly preserved mammoth thighbone in Siberia; by extracting marrow cells from this thighbone, placing them into modified elephant egg cells, and injecting these egg cells into an elephant’s womb, it is possible that a mammoth could be produced.  Scientists were surprised at the good condition of the matter of this thighbone; normally nuclei cells are damaged from extreme cold, but the ones in the thighbone found in Siberia are almost completely unharmed.  Scientists have been trying to clone the mammoth for over twenty years, and they are very thrilled by this opportunity. 

I was astonished to read this news.  Frankly, I had no idea that it was remotely possible to clone a species that has been extinct for such a long period of time.  The science and technology that makes this possible is unbelievable.  The mammoth was truly a majestic creature, and it would be remarkable to see this species come to life again.  I am thoroughly excited for that moment.