By Lucas Laursen

Thirty years ago this month, scientists first reported the existence of AIDS, and in the intervening decades researchers have focused steady efforts on prevention, long-term treatments such as antiretroviral drugs, and patient care. What has fallen in and out of fashion during that time is seeking a ‘cure’ for HIV. That changed when scientists reported that they had cured one man of the virus through a bone marrow transplant (Blood 117, 2791–2799, 2011). But the circumstances of that 2007 transplant were unique, and researchers say they are uncertain about how to fund additional cure-directed research without cannibalizing other components of the global HIV/AIDS research machine.

“That’s the tricky part,” says Bertrand Audoin, executive director of the International AIDS Society (IAS), a Geneva-based HIV research and education association. “Actually, to be honest, I’m glad it’s not for me to decide.”

(Click here to continue reading.)