Red stands for Change

Dreams of yesterdays are hopes of today, and realities of tomorrow.

I am not going to bore everyone with lessons on AIDS - even if they are required - since few care to read them.

Instead, we will mostly get this blog done by video posts, interesting links, and animation pics.

Cool :)

First Vid Coming up:

Understanding AIDS and HIV

There is whole series... if anyone is still with this post :(

So yeah, understanding AIDS require understanding HIV.

-- sorry I couldn't configure how to add script to Blogger, would read upto that. It is in short, an interactive module about HIV :)

How HIV Works

And what are the ways they spread...

• Sexual Intercourse
• Blood Transfusion
• Breastfeeding
• Infected Mother to fetus

And almost nothing else.

Why it is difficult to find anti-viral for HIV?

Find that yourself :P

OK, here is very recent tech that promises to be (almost) cure for HIV.

A short Youtube vid:

HIV Killing Compound? (thanks Terri for pointing out Video)

And here is Futurity Article referring to same:

http://www.futurity.org/top-stories/compound-dissolves-hiv-on-contact/

As I ask around, I get a very concise, clear and wonderful information:

""Essentially, PD is an antiviral molecule. There are many known antivirals and they each have different mechanisms. For PD, it is hypothesized that it inactivates HIV by interacting with a non-lipid element of the virus which exposes its genomic RNA, making it unstable and, thus, unable to undergo processes such endocytosis or fusion with the endosomal membrane which enables it to properly attach to a host cell. Without undergoing these final leg of attachment process, the virus is therefore unable to transmit genetic information to the host DNA cells and do its deadly deed. 

I find the title of the article you shared to be extremely misleading. Please take note that PD doesn't completely destroy/dissolve/break down (the proper term for this is lysis) the HIV virus. According to the full text, PD exposure does not appear to significantly 'dissolve' HIV (this is normally done by interacting with the lipid membrane of the viral cell) or inhibit its attachment to cells, even with a time of exposure of 90 min. The disruption to the HIV is only limited to inhibition of post-attachment step (such as endocytosis, as I've mentioned above, NOT the entire attachment process) of virus to host cells. However, the effect however small is indeed irreversible and prevents replication of viral nucleic acids very well. There is also another silver lining to this: since PD acts on certain structural elements of the virus and not the membrane/protein envelope, it is less likely that a mutant virus resistant to this drug will emerge. Not for a very long while anyway.

I hope that was clear and concise enough. Research on PD is still in its infant stages and has yet to be replicated/verified by another researcher. Until then, I would advise you not to get too excited. ;-)""

(Thanks to Shane for this)

So, as they said let's not get ahead, but a very promising research.


There are many links, vids and websites offering info about AIDS.
Spread Awareness, do your part.


Here is one organization trying to make world AIDS free by 2015.
Support is good: http://www.2015quilt.com/

__________________________

Note: No, I don't plan to update the blog so much and so often.