Hope sprang forth for combating the AIDS virus, back in December 2009, when scientists began to assemble a link that connected AIDS to ancient tigers. The connection originated when scientists were able to find a strand of feline DNA in the AIDS virus, a fact which led them to believe that the virus had originally incubated in ancient tigers. According to myfoxla.com, “They believe that the tiger may have bitten a monkey, setting in motion the viral evolution that would ultimate lead to the infection of humans.” While there does seem to be an element of the bizarre in this finding about the origin of AIDS, given that they are speaking of a tiger and a monkey from thousands or millions of years ago, many things become possible. The nature of evolution is such that, given such tremendous amounts of time, major changes can take place. It is entirely believable that a version of the AIDS virus which somehow remained in monkeys would slowly but surely become naturally selected for strength against hominids.
Battle is Won, War on AIDS Continues
May 4th, 2010The War against HIV/AIDS
May 4th, 2010HIV and AIDS are still major global health issues, affecting hundreds upon thousands of individuals. The battle against them has made some progress, thanks to the spread of information with the intent to ensure that HIV is not spread simply through ignorance. Other measures, such as the endorsement of prophylactics, have similarly produced some success, while measures such as abstinence-only education have failed miserably at reducing behaviors that might spread HIV. Regardless, however, the battle still needs to be waged against HIV and AIDS, as much recent news indicates.