Scientists create HIV ‘assassins’

Nov 16 2008 by Rhodri Evans, Wales On Sunday

Monday

WELSH scientists said they had developed cutting-edge “bionic assassins” to seek out and destroy the HIV virus.

A team from Cardiff University has discovered a way to genetically engineer the body’s own immune cells in a find which could revolutionise HIV treatment.

Experts at the university also hope that the breakthrough could be applied to cancer by finding a way of using the body’s own immune cells to attack invading cells and tumours.

The team’s genetically-engineered killer T-cells are able to identify and destroy HIV even when the virus mutates to avoid detection. It is thought that the breakthrough could lead to the development of more effective treatments for HIV and could even slow down or prevent the onset of Aids.