California Doctor Develops HIV Smart Bomb

Animal trials are showing promise for a new HIV treatment that attaches itself to the virus like a magnet and then stops it from spreading.

John Rossi, chair of molecular and cellular biology at the City of Hope hospital in Duarte, Calif., is the lead author on the study of the new therapy, which utilized mice. Rossi describes the treatment as a "smart bomb" against HIV.

"This particular approach is pretty different than almost everything else out there recently," Rossi told the Pasadena Star-News. Previously, Rossi developed a molecular sequence (called an aptamer) that targeted and blocked the genes that HIV uses to replicate — this new development utilizes a more efficient aptamer.