Cross-check: Dubitable Darwin? Why Some Smart, Nonreligious People Doubt the Theory of Evolution. A special report on the human genome: Biology 2.0 | The Economis. Antibody Building: Does Training the Body's Immune System Hold a New Key to Fending Off HIV Infection? Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have identified long-sought and elusive broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV in a pair of papers published in the July 9 issue of Science. These proteins produced by the immune system are crucial for creating a preventive vaccine, and could also have therapeutic uses developed in the coming years or decades.
Variations in individuals' immune systems can dramatically affect responses to infection—HIV is no exception. The result generally can be shown as a bell curve, with a group of people whose disease progresses rapidly, a broad middle segment who progress typically, and a small group of "elite controllers" whose immune systems are quite effective at containing HIV viral replication. The quest to figure out why has focused primarily on the adaptive immune system, because CD4+ and CD8+ T cells have a clearly demonstrated capacity to kill cells infected with HIV. B cells are the first line of defense against infection. The Science of Cougar Sex: Why Older Women Lust. Why Breaking Up Hurts: Similar to Addiction, Says Study.