Closer Look
Is there any hope left for an HIV vaccine?
An HIV vaccine has been on top of public health's wishlist for decades, with billions of dollars spent in research as the virus claimed 40 million lives. But at least one of the most prominent figures in the field is losing hope that a vaccine is within reach.
Only one late-stage HIV vaccine trial is still ongoing, but it uses an old technology. The approaches being drummed up by researchers — germline targeting, new viral vector vaccines — could be game-changing, opening up new ways of controlling the immune system for a range of threats to human health. But they are all years away from even starting a large-scale trial.
In the meantime, other exciting interventions, such as PrEP, could make a vaccine even harder to develop, reports my colleague Jason Mast. Read more.
health
How kids say they kicked the vaping habit
E-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product by young people in grades 6 to 12 (approximately 12 to 18 years old) but most of them try to quit, according to a study published in Pediatrics, and to do so by themselves.
Out of the 20,500 respondents to the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey, the study found, nearly 1,450 teenagers had vaped in the previous year. Out of them, almost 900 (67%) had tried to quit at least once, and the majority of those who tried to stop vaping (63.7%) said they quit without outside assistance.
Among the teens who sought support, the primary source of advice were friends, followed by the internet, apps, and parents. Teens who used tobacco in other forms too, other than vaping, were most likely to seek help from teachers or doctors to quit.
first opinion
IVG fertility won't be coming soon
In vitro gametogenesis, or IVG, a technology where sperm and eggs are produced in labs from stem cells, has been hailed as the ultimate hope for infertility.
But fertility research should not put all of its eggs in the IVG basket: the technology is still likely decades away from becoming a clinical reality, writes Jeremy Thompson in First Opinion. Overcoming the scientific obstacles might be relatively easy compared with the ethics and safety concerns related to IVG.
The hope for reproductive care may not lie in fast-forwarding time, but in rewinding it, through in vitro oocyte rejuvenation (IVOR), a much less hyped innovation that makes eggs younger, and more fertile. After all, it is primarily women approaching menopause who stand to benefit from IVG, and restoring their eggs would be easier than creating them from stem cells. Read more.
JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images
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