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Researchers say they've successfully eliminated HIV from the DNA of infected mice for the first time, bringing them one step closer to curing the virus in humans. Scientists from Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center were able to eliminate the virus using a combination of gene-editing technology and a slow-release antiviral drug, according to a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications. (Yancey-Bragg, 7/2)

“We think this study is a major breakthrough because it for the first time demonstrates after 40 years of the AIDS epidemic that the HIV disease is a curable disease,” said study co-author Dr. Kamel Khalili, chair of the department of neuroscience and director of the Center for Neurovirology and the Comprehensive NeuroAIDS Center at Temple University. (Turner, 7/2)

For the millions of people infected with HIV, the best way to manage the disease is antiretroviral therapy, which can lower the amount of HIV replicating in the body to undetectable levels. But antiretroviral therapy (ART) can only manage HIV, never eliminate it — leading people to rely on the expensive drugs for decades. Plus if ART is halted by these patients, HIV bounces back and its levels rise in a matter of weeks. In 2017 the World Health Organization reported that of 36.9 million people living with HIV, 21.7 million were taking ART. (McCoy, 7/2)