Your Health: Simple steps to a better you.

Millions infected annually, a vaccine is crucial to stopping HIV/AIDS.  While vaccines typically train the immune system to fight specific pathogens, HIV's vast variations and the body's struggles to produce effective antibodies have hindered vaccine development for decades. ( Colorized transmission electron micrograph of numerous HIV virus particles (blue) replicating from a T cell (red).  NIAID Integrated Research Facility ) New Hope Emerges: Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies (bnAbs) Over a decade ago, researchers identified a rare type of antibody, called broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs), that could combat numerous HIV strains. These bnAbs have shown promise in preventing infection, but inducing them with a vaccine has proven difficult.  Targeting the Rare: Activating bnAb-Precursor B Cells The key lies in stimulating the rare immune cells that develop into bnAb producers - bnAb-precursor B cells.  A team led by Dr. William Schief at Scripps Research Institu...