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A novel vaccine has protected two chimpanzees that were deliberately injected with the AIDS virus, scientists said today. The experiments involved a vaccine made by incorporating weakened genes from H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. The experimental vaccine, which is based on DNA, is also being tested on humans, but it is too early for any meaningful results, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The authors of the chimp study injected large amounts of H.I.V. into the animals. Tests showed that the virus could be detected only once and in very small amounts during a 48-week monitoring period. In comparison, large amounts of H.I.V. were continually detected in another chimpanzee that received a different, weaker vaccine, the team of authors, led by Dr. David B. Weiner of the University of Pennsylvania, report in the journal Nature Medicine

A novel vaccine has protected two chimpanzees that were deliberately injected with the AIDS virus, scientists said yesterday. The experiments involved a vaccine made by incorporating weakened genes from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The experimental vaccine, which is based on DNA, is being tested on humans, but it is too early for any meaningful results, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

For several years Knoll had prohibited a team led by Dr. Betty J. Dong at the University of California at San Francisco from reporting a study showing that Synthroid was no more effective than less expensive generic versions of the drug. Dr. Dong signed a contract in 1987 giving Knoll's predecessor the right to veto any publication. The study was completed in 1990, but the findings were reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association on April 16 after Knoll relented. Federal health officials and experts at universities, drug companies and scientific journals said they considered the thyroid case unusual. And a spokeswoman for Knoll, Linda Mayer, said she was not aware of other contracts between Knoll and academic institutions with clauses similar to that in the contract with Dr. Dong

Experts in thyroid disease expressed caution yesterday about whether patients with underactive thyroids who take a drug known as Synthroid as a daily hormone replacement should switch to a less expensive generic substitute. Such patients should talk to their doctor about the possibility of switching from Synthroid, the trade name version of a hormone known as levothyroxine, to other forms of the drug, the experts said. They emphasized that stability in the amount of drug taken was important to prevent the reappearance of symptoms from either too little or too much hormone among the eight million Americans who take levothyroxine