The Catalyst

By Kelli Konicek, Features Editor

Wonderful news was reported recently from the Associated Press- an experimental vaccine has led scientists to conclude that it may perhaps prevent against the infection of HIV, the potentially deadly and extremely distressing sexually transmitted disease. This advancement has been heralded for its good fortune- Ever since the rise of AIDS and HIV in the mid-80s, researchers have feared that a viable vaccine was impossible. The difficulty of this disease is due to its damaging effect on the immune system, which can cause even the common cold to kill human beings infected with the virus.
According to the associated press, the new vaccine is a conglomeration of vaccines that proved to be ineffective in testing- this new idea has “revitalized” the field of AIDS study.
Vaccines are usually an injection of a mild strain of a virus or a slightly altered version of one. The smallpox virus was magically prevented with a little bit of cowpox pus- it seems as if it should be simple-ish to come up with a vaccine for any virus. Not so. For the last decade, medical officials have been increasingly pessimistic about discovering a working HIV vaccine. This newest development has left the scientific community confident and happy that new medical techniques are just around the corner, waiting to be discovered and utilized to their fullest potential.