Spanish researchers have completed the first human trial of a new vaccine against HIV. It has been successful in 90% of the HIV-free volunteers during phase I testing. This vaccine brings great hope to eradicate this plague forever.
The team lead by Dr Mariano Esteban, a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council’s Biotechnology National Centre, has been working on this method since 1999. They are using an attenuated virus called the MVA-B, a variation of the Modified Ankara Vaccinia, which was previously used to eradicate smallpox. The Modified Ankara Vaccinia also forms the base of other vaccines. The B refers to the HIV-B, the most common HIV subtype in Europe.
Dr Esteban’s team inserted the HIV genes Gag, Pol, Nef and Env in MVA’s genetic sequence. In 2008, they tried the resulting HIV nuke on mice and monkeys. It was a complete success.
Successful human test
The first human test results were published in Vaccine and Journal of Virology. In the experiment, scientists injected the vaccine in 24 of 30 HIV-free volunteers. Six volunteers were treated with a placebo vaccine—they didn’t experience any effect. But 90% of the treated subjects developed a very strong immunological response against the HIV virus. 85% kept the immunological reaction for at least one year, which is really good news.
According to their results, there were no significant secondary effects in any of the patients, which was one of the major objectives of to be tested in this clinical trial.
Despite the success, Dr Esteban is cautious:
[T]he treatment has only been tested on 30 volunteers and, while [the vaccine] provokes a powerful response in most of the cases, it’s still to soon if the resulting defense would be effective against an actual [HIV] infection.
The team will now start another phase I trial, injecting the vaccine in HIV-infected people. The objective of this trial is to test the therapeutical effect of the vaccine in these patients.
According to Dr Esteban, “in principle, the immunological profile of MVA-B satisfies the requirements for a promising vaccine against the HIV, like the creation of antibodies and the activation of key cells in the defense against the virus.” Sadly, it is still far away from commercialization: they need to test this on phase II and III trials, injecting vaccinated volunteers with the actual HIV virus on a larger scale.
Hopefully, one day this one will nail that HIV bastard down. [CSIC—In Spanish]
There are 7 Billion People on earth, but are you typical? Watch the video and find out. Trust me you need to watch this, it is extremely interesting. Now I remember why I love National Geographic so much!
Remember my post a while about about human breast milk cheese?
Well folks, now there’s human breast milk ice cream!!!!
A shop in London called The Icecreamists, founded by Matt O’Connor, is confident that this “miracle of motherhood” will take off.
I chuckled when I read that Victoria Hiley, one of the 15 women who donated their breast milk, said “What could be more natural than fresh, free-range mother’s milk in an ice cream? And for me it’s a recession beater too - what’s the harm in using my assets for a bit of extra cash”.
I can’t speak for everyone, but when I hear “free-range”, I think of chicken.
Read the full article here: Calgary Herald
“Before you speak, ask yourself: is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence?”
Sai Baba
Hungry for some human breast milk cheese anyone?
It comes in 3 delicious flavors folks!
Sweet Airy Equity - a mild and hard cheese made from a young Chinese mother from midtown Manhattan. Here’s a little someting for those people with Yellow Fever.
Wisconsin Bang - a spicy creamy cheese made from a lawyer’s assistant from Wisconsin who loves spiced foods. Something for the folks that like sweet young ladies who’s a sexpot in disguise.
City Funk - a stinky cheese from a reserved lady from Manhattan. Something for those with urban housewife fantasies.
Can you imagine eating these fine cheeses with utensils with fine human leather wrapped handles and fine human leather place mats? Oh yeah, now that’s living!
Early Onset of Night’s blog about human leather is here
For any of you that are actually interested in tasting them, go here
This. Is. Fucking. Sick.
*please excuse my language*
It’s real, see?
What they do is take human skin and make leather out of it. A wallet costs $14,000, a belt $15,750.
The company addresses the astronomical pricing, saying their clients “are amongst the lucky few who have everything they could possibly desire.”
In short, the ickiest type of rich person: bored. So you got this bored, rich person just hanging around his mansion waiting to die, and he orders up a belt made out of a dead guy. He can now say to his bored, rich friends: “See this belt? It’s made out of Mark.”
And for a few seconds, he isn’t bored anymore.
On another note, can you imagine an organization as passionate as PETA except for people? PETP? Wow.
In my opinion, PETA is only possible in a bored, rich country. It could never have arisen in, say, Ethiopia.
Anyway. Human fucking leather. How about that?
