Why Bee Venom Could Be The Secret Weapon We Need To Combat The HIV Epidemic

Scientists believe they may have discovered an unlikely weapon in the fight against the global HIV/AIDS epidemic: bee venom.

According to researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, bee venom contains a powerful toxin called “melittin” that can effectively kill the HIV virus while leaving the surrounding cells unharmed. Now that they’ve isolated the toxin, they’re using it to develop a vaginal gel to prevent the spread of HIV — a new tool that will hopefully help stop the transmission of the virus in places with high rates of infection:

“Our hope is that in places where HIV is running rampant, people could use this gel as a preventive measure to stop the initial infection,” says Joshua L. Hood, MD, PhD, a research instructor in medicine. [...]

According to Hood, an advantage of this approach is that the nanoparticle attacks an essential part of the virus’ structure. In contrast, most anti-HIV drugs inhibit the virus’s ability to replicate. But this anti-replication strategy does nothing to stop initial infection, and some strains of the virus have found ways around these drugs and reproduce anyway.

“We are attacking an inherent physical property of HIV,” Hood says. “Theoretically, there isn’t any way for the virus to adapt to that. The virus has to have a protective coat, a double-layered membrane that covers the virus.”

Beyond prevention in the form of a vaginal gel, Hood also sees potential for using nanoparticles with melittin as therapy for existing HIV infections, especially those that are drug-resistant. The nanoparticles could be injected intravenously and, in theory, would be able to clear HIV from the blood stream.

Researchers haven’t yet explored all of melittin’s potential to be used for contraceptive purposes, but Hood pointed out that the gel could likely be adapted to target sperm as well as HIV — essentially creating a spermicide that could protect against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. But as of now, the gel is safe for both sperm and vaginal cells, and may be particularly useful for HIV-positive individuals who want to safely conceive.

And, since melittin could also help combat viruses other than HIV, bee venom could have broader implications for public health efforts. Melittin may be able to similarly destroy the hepatitis B and C viruses.

Bee venom’s important toxin is just the latest unexpected breakthrough in HIV treatment and prevention efforts. Last week, scientists reported that they may have “functionally cured” a two-year-old child of her HIV infection by aggressively treating her infection from the time of her birth. Unfortunately, the automatic cuts that recently began taking effect as a result of the sequestration may hamper future HIV research, as scientists will now have fewer resources to invest in research projects focused on unlocking the keys to treating the epidemic.

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Secretary of Defense: Iran Has Not Made A Decision To Pursue A Nuclear Weapon

If you watched Chuck Hagel’s Senate confirmation hearing to become Secretary of Defense, you’d assume that Iran is at most days away from obtaining a nuclear weapon, requiring an immediate decision on the use of force. “If your position is truly prevention and not containment, Chuck, what is the redline [on Iran], what is the point?” asked Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). “We know there’s some things happening over there right now that are very serious.”

But on Sunday morning, during an appearance on Meet The Press, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, reiterated that Iran has not decided to pursue nuclear weapons, dispelling the narrative being put forward by Senate Republicans.

Speaking to guest host Chuck Todd, Panetta and Dempsey both made clear that they believe that Hagel will be confirmed and said that previous analysis about Iran still holds true:

PANETTA: What I’ve said, and I will say today, is that the intelligence we have is they have not made the decision to proceed with the development a nuclear weapon. They are developing and enriching uranium, they continue to do that —

TODD: Why do you believe they’re doing that?

PANETTA: I think it’s a clear indication — They say they’re doing that to be able to do their own energy source. I think it is suspect that they continue to enrich uranium because that is dangerous and that violates international rules.

TODD: You believe that they are probably developing nuclear weapons, but you don’t, the intelligence doesn’t —

PANETTA: No, I can’t — I can’t tell you they are in fact pursuing a weapon, because that’s what not intelligence say they’re doing right now.

Watch Panetta’s statements here:

Panetta also lamented the inability of Congress to ask a range questions about matters that the next head of the Pentagon will face, instead concentrating on Hagel’s past comments. The focus on Iran and Israel, according to Panetta, crowded out discussion on military budget, combating terrorism, and the still ongoing war in Afghanistan. “We just did not see enough time spent on discussing those issues. And in the end, that’s what counts,” Panetta said.

To illustrate the disparity in questioning, the Washington Post’s Max Fischer conducted a word count of Hagel’s hearing’s transcript. Throughout the three rounds of questions, “Iran” was brought up 169 times and “Israel” mentioned 178 times. Meanwhile, “Al Qaeda” was only mentioned twice.

Despite the opposition put forward by the Senate GOP, it seems unlikely that Hagel’s nomination will be filibustered. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) on Friday indicated that a majority vote alone should be able to move Hagel to the Pentagon, while Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) threat to hold Hagel’s confirmation fizzled with the announcement of a coming Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Benghazi.

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Gohmert: 'Any weapon' is an assault weapon

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said Friday that he would not support efforts for a renewed assault weapons ban, because "any weapon" — including hammers and machetes — could qualify as an "assault weapon."

"I refuse to play the game of 'assault weapon,' " Gohmert said on the "Dennis Miller Show," as first reported by ThinkProgress. "That’s any weapon. It’s a hammer. It’s the machetes. In Rwanda that killed 800,000 people, an article that came out this week, the massive number that are killed with hammers."

The term "assault weapon" was defined in the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban as certain firearms, the majority of which were semi-automatic and possessed cosmetic features mirroring those on military or fully automatic weapons. Opponents of the ban have argued that features like pistol grips, threaded barrels, or telescoping stocks do not actually increase the lethality of a weapon.

At a press conference last month, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the president will "actively support" efforts by Democrats to reinstate the federal assault weapons ban, which sunset during the Bush administration. Obama pledged to address gun violence in his second term after the Connecticut elementary school shooting that left 26 dead.  "He wants to move in the coming weeks, which is a fairly short period of time," Carney said. "And while he supports, and strongly, renewal of the assault weapons ban, and strongly other measures, he wants to expand the conversation beyond those specific areas of legislation to look at other ways we can address this problem.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has pledged to introduce an updated version of the bill sometime this month.

That bill would outlaw 100 specifically named firearms, along with any weapon that can accept detachable magazines and handguns with fixed magazines that can accept more than 10 rounds.

Gohmert has previously suggested that he believes school officials should be armed to prevent future violence, and suggested that had the slain principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School had a gun, the shooter may have been stopped.

"I wish to God she had had an M-4 in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out and she didn't have to lunge heroically with nothing in her hands. But she takes him out, takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids," Gohmert told Fox News.

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