The light at the end of the tunnel?

Roughly three weeks have passed since I wrote my last entry in my blog. And believe me, it's not a lack of interest in writing stuff here -- at the end of the day, writing is one of my favorite things to do in life. But there have been other factors that have kept me of writing posts, most notably lack of time and lack of good (i.e. positive) things to write about.

Yes, there have been interesting things going on in our world lately. Most of them have not been positive though: A series of despicable terrorist attacks against tourist and religious centers in Mumbai, India, left hundreds of casualties and thousands of injuries. Also, the world economic recession has prompted a wave of layoffs that have left thousands of people around the world without a job. On top of that, the purchasing power of consumers worldwide appears to be reducing more and more everyday, and we are just wondering when will this economic recession come to an end...

Even though there is a real scarcity of positive topics to write about recently, from time to time it's possible to hear out there things that really make us remember that ours is a civilization in motion, and that there is always a flip side to all the turmoil that happens at times. This time, it is a news that, if it is true, will bring benefits and hope to thousands, maybe millions, of people who live with HIV.

Luc Montagnier, the French scientist who, with the help of a group of collaborators discovered in 1982 the retrovirus guilty of causing HIV in patients, believes that within 5 years there will be a vaccination to treat and prevent HIV available in the markets. According to a note published by CBC news, there are no evident clues as to why would Montagnier set the 5 year timeframe to come up with a treatment and preventive vaccination. But I want to believe that Mr. Montagnier has some inside information, that he knows well the status of all the research done so far surrounding the treatment of HIV, and that his predictions will be correct.

It is hard to imagine that the day when the cure for HIV will be available is coming. Too good to feel true, but the fact that my mind cannot currently see that happening does not mean by any means that I am negative or skeptical about Mr. Montagnier predictions. At the end of the day, he is the expert and he knows much more about the topic than I do... and if his thoughts are correct, then mankind will have given another huge leap in 5 years time.

Very nice indeed. I would love to hear about the day when the announcement of the cure of cancer and other diseases will be made, if ever. These successes will benefit millions of people around the world, and all the generations to come.

With information from CBC news, available here.