Gene Research Finds Clues to AIDS Survival

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Gene Research Finds Clues to AIDS Survival

For decades, they lived a mystery: Why were they able to survive with

the

AIDS virus, free of symptoms and the need for potent drugs, while so

many

others with the same germ turned deathly ill?

Their innate ability to keep HIV infections in check intrigued

researchers, who suspected these people, known as " controllers, " might

carry clues to

designing effective vaccines after nearly 30 years of frustration.

Now, an international team of researchers, led by specialists in Boston,

has cracked these HIV survivors' genetic code, sifting through almost

1.4

million pieces of DNA to discover five amino acids that separate the

small

cadre of controllers from the vast majority who must take medication or

face death.

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