A single miraculous drug which could prevent human immuno deficiency virus (HIV) infection, treat patients who have already contracted HIV and even remove all the dormant copies of virus from patients with the more advanced disease will be a great boon in HIV control. Existing HIV drugs target individual steps of HIV life cycle some stop the virus from integrating into cell's DNA, for instance, while others try to stop the affected cells from producing more virus The problem with these drugs is that they do not actually remove the copies of the virus that are hidden within the cell's DNA. These copies can remain dormant for years and then activate again, Patients need to take the drugs either every day or every week for their whole lives because HIV could be latent.
In order to avoid this problem, a molecular defense called CRISPR, that bacteria use to cut foreign DNA at specific sites has been identified and is being presently used to edit genes. CRISPR can be programmed to slice and destroy virus inside human cells. It uses bits of genetic material called guide RNAs to dictate its cuts and binds to unique spots on the HIV virus Studies have suggested that CRISPR successfully cut the right spots in HIV's genes, inactivating the virus, and removing the virus from upto 72 percent of cells completely CR ISPR chopped not only the loose copies of virus which initially infected the cell, but it also cut HIV that was hidden and dormant within the cell's DNA. By eliminating the virus at the early steps of its life cycle, HIV infection of human cells can thereby be prevented. In this manner CRISPR can actually excise HIV virus out of the human genome.
