The safety and effectiveness of a potential vaccine for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been enhanced by engineering an on/off switch into a weakened form of HIV. The virus has been responsible for approximately 35 million deaths during the past 35 years. The recent study by University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers, demonstrated that flipping the switch allows weakened HIV to replicate at a level likely to generate immunity in a host. This replication can be switched off at will.
