YOGURT may soon be enlisted in the battle against AIDS. Lactobacillus, a harmless bacterium that helps turn milk into yogurt, has been engineered to make HIV-fighting microbicides. Eating yogurt containing these bacteria could provide a way for women to fend off HIV if no other means are available.
As well as appearing in yogurt, lactobacillus naturally inhabits the human vagina. It survives passage through the gut and can easily traverse the short distance from the anus and colonise the vagina. Once there, the bioengineered bacteria would churn out compounds that inhibit transmission of HIV, thus helping prevent infection.
Researchers have…
