How to Make the Most of HIV Resistance

University of Pennsylvania scientists have shown that by deleting the gene encoding for CCR5, an HIV co-receptor that sits on the surface of T-cells, they made mice resistant to HIV infection. Their work, published in Nature Biotechnology this week, uses a zinc finger nuclease, which may offer hope for infected patients. "In theory, AIDS doctors could take some T-cells out of an infected person, edit their genomes, and stick them back into their patient," says a Wired post. "This trick would not eliminate the virus, but it might be able to permanently raise the T-cell counts of AIDS patients, increasing their ability to resist secondary infections and remain healthy."