Faculty Bibliography

Infection with HIV-2, a relatively mild type of the AIDS virus, seems to protect some people against infection with a more virulent type of the virus, according to a study of prostitutes in West Africa that is being reported in the journal Science on Jun 16, 1995. The authors of the study, which was carried out by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal, said the findings might help in developing an AIDS vaccine

Infection with a relatively mild type of the AIDS virus seems to protect some people against infection with a more severe type, according to a study of prostitutes in West Africa. The more severe virus is HIV-1, responsible for the epidemic of AIDS worldwide. The milder virus is HIV-2, which is common in West Africa but rare elsewhere. The authors of the study suggested that the findings might help in developing an AIDS vaccine, perhaps one modeled after the cowpox vaccine that was used to protect against smallpox. Cowpox virus is harmless, but the smallpox virus, though closely related, is one of the most devastating viruses known

The more virulent virus is HIV-1, responsible for the epidemic of AIDS in much of the world. The milder virus is HIV-2, which is common in West Africa but rare elsewhere, and takes much longer to produce disease. The study's authors suggested that the findings might help in developing an AIDS vaccine, perhaps one modeled after the cowpox vaccine that was used to protect against smallpox. Cowpox virus is harmless but the smallpox virus, though closely related, is one of the most devastating viruses known. Theoretically, the findings might help in developing an AIDS vaccine if researchers could determine the specific components of the immune system that might be stimulated by HIV-2 to protect against HIV-1, and then used genetic engineering techniques to incorporate them in an AIDS vaccine

Louis Pasteur, one of the legendary figures in the history of science, lied about his research, stole ideas from a competitor and was deceitful in ways that would now be regarded as scientific misconduct if not fraud, according to a revisionist history published last month. 'The Private Science of Louis Pasteur,' by Dr. Gerald L. Geison of Princeton University, is based on an examination of Pasteur's 102 laboratory notebooks, well-preserved for more than a century. Geison is one of the few historians of science to base research on laboratory notebooks. In Pasteur's case, the research turned up serious discrepancies between his publications and public statements and what he recorded in his notebooks

The doctor caring for Christopher Reeve, who became quadriplegic when he was thrown headfirst from a horse on May 27, 1995, said on Jun 2 that the actor had regained some feeling in his upper chest. John A. Jane, a neurosurgeon, said that the injury remained devastating, however, and that Reeve was still paralyzed from the neck down

Christopher Reeve, the actor who became quadriplegic when he was thrown headfirst from a horse last Saturday, has regained some feeling in his upper chest, but there is no change in the paralysis from his neck down, his doctor said Friday. The return of some sensation is an encouraging sign that Reeve did not completely sever his spinal cord and might regain an undetermined amount of function. Nevertheless, the injury remains devastating, said Dr. John A. Jane, Reeve's neurosurgeon

Dipping a wafer into the communion cup does not abolish the risk of infection to communicants, but it is safer than sipping wine from a common cup, according to a new study. Anne LaGrange Loving, a professor of microbiology at Felician College in Lodi, N.J., undertook the study because of widespread concern about the potential hazards associated with sipping communal wine. Although no illness has been documented, the current concern is that the practice of sipping wine from a communion cup could be hazardous for those with cancer and AIDS, because they have impaired immune systems, Loving said. For that reason, the alternative of dipping wafers into the wine, either by the communicant or the minister, has become popular among many denominations, Loving said

The actor Christopher Reeve remains paralyzed, breathing only with the aid of a mechanical respirator at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, his doctor said on Jun 1, 1995. Reeve, who starred as Superman in several movies and recently played a wheelchair-bound detective in a cable TV movie, is alert and can communicate 'by mouthing words,' but cannot make sounds because a breathing tube has been inserted into his windpipe

The World Health Organization on Tuesday reported an increase, to 153, in the number of deaths from infection with the Ebola virus in Zaire. But it said the new numbers represent cases that occurred in the earliest phase of the epidemic, from January to March, and are just being confirmed. The latest counts are 205 suspected or confirmed cases, including the 153 deaths, up from the 160 cases, including 121 deaths, that WHO reported on Friday