With the growing number of people getting infected with HIV, there certainly is a clamor for a cure. But what to do when it seems to be ever-evasive? The disease, after all, is no laughing matter, and has in fact brought a lot of stigma to those who have it.

But despite the really dark clouds looming over those unfortunate enough to have contacted the virus, a silver lining seems to be peeking out from the sky in the persona of Leor Weinberger and Thomas Shenk. The two are scientists from Princeton, and it is their belief that it may actually be possible to deactivate lingering viral infections such as HIV and herpes with a flick of a genetic switch - albeit indefinitely.

Based on their study, they found out that Tat, an HIV protein, plays "a major part in initiating and also interrupting the cascade of chemical reactions that leads to full-blown infection." Through this, they have then theorized that the Tat protein and enzymes that modify it plays the role of a "resistor."

"The resistor paradigm is a helpful way to think about how HIV enters and exits latency, and it might serve as a useful model for latent infections by other viruses as well," says Shenk.

If their theory works, then we just might be seeing the start to an actual solution for the HIV problems that have affected lives of millions of people, even an entire continent. To read more about this finding, click on the Read link below.