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The subject of AIDS, and HIV, is a sensitive one. The AIDS pandemic has affected millions of people worldwide, with a large proportion of them being children, and is considered one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. With scientists across the globe searching desperately for a vaccine for HIV (which is the most prevalent precursor to AIDS), their collective difficulties have given rise to a number of alarmist theories and the dissemination of misinformation. Some of these are rooted in truth; some are playing up to faulty science. To best understand the difficulties these scientists are facing, it's important to understand the nature of HIV, and how it commonly leads to the onset of AIDS.

Many people use the terms AIDS and HIV-positive interchangeably, but this is incorrect and misleading. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is, as indicated by the word 'syndrome', a collection of symptoms, or detectable characteristics. In theory, a syndrome could have a variety of physical causes, but usually the collection of symptoms can be narrowed down to a few causes, if not one. However, AIDS refers to the specific damage caused to the immune system by HIV - while the presence of HIV doesn't always cause AIDS, but if left untreated, most people do eventually develop the syndrome, and nine out of ten people with AIDS die relatively shortly afterwards.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a retrovirus, which in layman's terms are known for using a particular enzyme to encode their RNA into the DNA of their host cell - essentially, the retrovirus takes over. They also replicate extremely quickly, which means they're provided with enormous opportunities for genetic mutation - the more they mutate, the greater the chances that they'll develop strains that are genetically guarded against certain threats, such as the limited number of drugs available for treatment. The reason why HIV is so lethal is because it attacks our only means of counterattack - our immune system - by targeting the helper T cells, which are a type of white blood cell. T helpers don't directly attack infections in the body but are crucial for activating and directing other immune cells. By crippling the immune system, HIV leaves people virtually unable to defend themselves against the slightest of diseases.

While it's true that pharmaceutical companies stand to profit from the prevention of the development of an HIV vaccine, it would be irresponsible to claim that they're actively

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