Don't use this as an excuse to avoid using condoms, but scientists have found 1% of the population is naturally resistant to HIV and other deadly diseases like malaria, leprosy and hepatitis.
How's that for a genetic mutation? Professor X would be so proud! Ha!
The discovery came after researchers studying anthrax susceptibility found it is actually an inherited genetic trait.
Out of 234 people participating in the study at the Stanford University School of Medicine, 3 people's cells were unaffected by the toxin, while others' were a hundred times more sensitive.
Much like anthrax bacteria infiltrating and killing host cells in the bloodstream, the same research shows that other lethal pathogens — including all the nasty disease mentioned above — interact with host genes to infect and replicate within human cells. Immune cells called lymphocytes in 3 individuals of European ancestry were thousands of times more resistant to anthrax toxins and possibly other pathogens.
While the study pertained mostly to anthrax, it showed that 1 out of 100 people may hold the key to preventing or treating HIV infection! That's always good news in our book, even if it's just a chance!
[Image via AP Images.]
Tags: aids, anthrax, cells, cure, genes, hiv, research, science, stanford, susceptibility