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Cover Story

Hidden Menace
John Frater, Genevieve Martin, Matthew Pace | May 1, 2015
Curing HIV means finding and eradicating viruses still lurking in the shadows.

Features

Defeating the Virus
Wayne C. Koff | May 1, 2015
Recent discoveries are spurring a renaissance in HIV vaccine research and development.
Hearts on Trial
Kerry Grens | May 1, 2015
As researchers conduct the most rigorous human trials of cardiac cell therapies yet attempted, a clear picture of whether these treatments actually work is imminent.

Contributors

Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the May 2015 issue of The Scientist.

Editorial

Hiding in the Haystack
Hiding in the Haystack
Encouraging developments in HIV research

Speaking of Science

Speaking of Science
Speaking of Science
May 2015's selection of notable quotes

Notebook

Llamas as Lab Rats
Llamas as Lab Rats
From diagnostics to vaccines, llama antibodies point to new directions in HIV research.
A Most Kinky Moth
A Most Kinky Moth
A retired entomologist discovers a world of behavioral diversity in the courtship rituals of a well-studied moth species.
HIV in the Internet Age
HIV in the Internet Age
Social networking sites may facilitate the spread of sexually transmitted disease, but these sites also serve as effective education and prevention tools.
timothy ray brown hiv aids activist ccr5 delta32 natural immunity
Miraculous Activist
Miraculous Activist
Timothy Ray Brown, commonly referred to as the “Berlin patient,” does not want to be the only person cured of AIDS.

Critic at Large

Think Before You Fire
Think Before You Fire
Industry layoffs may save a few dollars, at the cost of losing the collective brainpower of thousands of scientists.
Seeded by Weeds
Seeded by Weeds
More than 50 years after cross-contamination of cultured cell lines was recognized, the problem continues to plague the scientific community.

Modus Operandi

Scanning for SIV’s Sanctuaries
Scanning for SIV’s Sanctuaries
Whole-body immunoPET scans of SIV-infected macaques reveal where the replicating virus hides.
 

The Literature

Looking for Latent HIV
Looking for Latent HIV
Sequencing HIV integration sites suggests that clonally expanded T-cell populations may not be the main source of latent virus.
Soluble Signal
Soluble Signal
An immune protein previously thought to mark inactive T cells has a free-floating form that correlates with HIV disease progression.
The Origins of O
The Origins of O
A strain of HIV that has afflicted more than 100,000 people emerged from gorillas.

Profile

Putting It Together
Putting It Together
Exploring viral replication pathways has led Carol Carter from the study of measles and reoviruses to the assembly and budding of newly minted HIV.

Scientist to Watch

Filippos Porichis: Immunoregulator
Filippos Porichis: Immunoregulator
Principal Investigator, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard. Age: 33

Lab Tools

Show Me Your Moves
Show Me Your Moves
Updated classics and new techniques help microbiologists get up close and quantitative.
All Is Not Quiet on the Western Front
All Is Not Quiet on the Western Front
A grab bag of advances is making Western blots faster, more sensitive, and more reliable.

Careers

Follow the Funding
Follow the Funding
In times of budget belt-tightening at the federal level, life-science researchers can keep their work supported through private sources.
 

Reading Frames

Attacking AIDS on Many Fronts
Attacking AIDS on Many Fronts
A close cooperation between science, politics, and economics has helped to control one of history’s most destructive epidemics.
 

Capsule Reviews

Capsule Reviews
Capsule Reviews
The Genealogy of a Gene, On the Move, The Chimp and the River, and Domesticated

Foundations

Early AIDS Messages
Early AIDS Messages
Early HIV/AIDS posters raised awareness about the disease and later encouraged behavioral changes to prevent its spread.