YOU Get the Cure and YOU Get the Cure and EVERYBODY GETS THE CURE!

After our recent class discussion about HIV and the man who was cured of AIDS, doctors may have found a cure that will work for all cases of HIV/AIDS and maybe even other viruses such as Hepatitus B and C. The cure comes from a naturally occurring ingredient (a quite obscure one, I might add)--bee venom.

Cures from bee venom? Who'd have thought?

Ok, so I know that this doesn't seem that likely...After all, HIV/AIDS has been a death sentence for millions of people. It's powerful enough to break the human body's immune system down and cause people to develop pneumonia from the common cold. How in the world can something as simple as bee venom cure such a horrible disease?

Well, I found something interesting on sciencenews.org that discusses just that.

A chemical called melittin in the bee's venom is capable of deteriorating the double membrane that surrounds viruses such as HIV. It also doesn't affect the normal cells of the body--just the small, teensy-tiny virus infected cells. This treatment has amazing possibilites, and it is even suggested that women in at-risk parts of the world could get a vaginal gel that contains the chemical as a preventative, as that is the location of initial infection in women. 

If this proves to be a long-lasting solution, millions of lives could be saved all over the world! Finally the disease that has been eluding us for 30 years now has (possibly) met its match. 

Article Cred: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/348990/description/Bee_venom_component_might_offer_HIV_protection

Photo Cred: http://myhoustonmajic.com/2928747/bee-venom-kills-hiv/