Curious? Ask A Scientist, deepening my knowledge:Viruses- HIV/AIDS

I recently visited a web site where you could ask a scientist a question call Ask a Scientist at http://www.askascientist.org.  So I asked , “Has there ever been a case of some one’s body being immune to a viral disease? Is this possible why or why not? How could this help in the search for the HIV/AIDS cure?” I asked a scientist and there no results found. So I then sent a request for the answers to the previous questions. Still there was no response, not what I expected. This type of web site would be very beneficial to my students if the intent was successful.  Being able to interact and gain insight from real scientist would be  a motivator in the science fields. Through my own research I have discovered a lot about HIV immunity. I know that our immune system detects a wide variety of agents and determines if they are foreign or not. Foreign agent are often killed and destroyed. To be protected, people must inherit the genes from both parents; those who inherit a mutated gene from just one parent will end up with greater resistance against HIV than other people, but they won't be immune. Studies have been done all over the world. Cases have been presented with studies of groups or people who are constantly exposed to HIV and show symptoms or no signs of HIV.

According to Teacher’s Domain (2003) a genetic mutation that prevents the HIV virus from entering the cell has been found. HIV enters white blood cells through the CD-4 and CCR-5 receptors on the cell's surface; some individuals have no CCR-5 gene, which means that HIV cannot enter their cells (Teacher Domain, 2003). CD-4 cells are deep inside the body and not on the surface (i.e. skin) such as other CD markers, in which HIV/AIDS virus cannot enter as discussed by Tillery, Enger and Ross (2008). This is the evidence behind why HIV/AIDS cannot be transmitted through the skin or by touching. There are different types of cells to perform different duties.

I was then curious about plant cells and viruses. I wondered about plants getting viruses. I was informed by my professor (Dr. Lyman) that plants are cellular so they can be invaded by viruses just like we can. He also stated that some of the earliest studies of viruses were done on the Tobacco Mosaic Virus - a virion that damages tobacco crops and costs tobacco growers lots of money.

References

Teachers' Domain.(2003). HIV Immunity. Retrieved from:http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.gen.hivimmunity/
Tillery, B., Enger, E., & Ross, F. (2008). Integrated science (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.