The problem: HIV mutates faster than the immune system can make antibodies to fight it. That’s one reason it has been so hard to develop a vaccine — the version of the virus someone is protected from would be totally different from the one they may be infected with.
The solution: Some people, after several years of HIV infection, start generating what are called “broadly neutralizing antibodies” that essentially remember every HIV mutation the body has seen, though not enough to fight off the virus. But a team of researchers developed a vaccine that got HIV-negative people to make the antibodies, which seemed to move fast enough to keep up with mutations. Researchers did this using shots of synthetic molecules that resemble a part of HIV’s outer shell.
Yes, but: This is more about laying the groundwork for a future vaccine. Researchers need to step up how many antibodies are produced for a vaccine to be effective. The team is also designing other molecules that resemble other versions of the HIV shell, so the antibodies that are produced are even more effective.