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Human trials are now planned. If successful, the simple, cheap HIV vaccine could be taken as a probiotic-like drink.

The new vaccine works in the opposite way to most vaccines - by suppressing, rather than triggering, an immune response. This is because HIV and SIV actually require immune cells known as CD4 T-cells in order to proliferate and establish an infection in the body.

Source: http://www.aidsmap.com/Novel-immune-suppressant-vaccine-completely-blocks-HIV-infection-in-monkeys-human-trials-planned/page/2902377 ...

A doctor chronicles the signatures of his patient as the disease took hold of her. Our love goes out to anyone who's dealt with this awful disease in some way.

Meet the tiny book scorpion, Chelifer cancroides. If you have a collection of old books, you probably have an army of book scorpions protecting it, because they eat the book lice that eat the glue that was once used by traditional bookbinders.

Need a seat? This new wearable Chairless Chair exoskeleton lets you sit down in thin air. See the prototype in action:

This footage of a velvet worm shooting foot-long strands of slime to immobilise its prey is pretty incredible. After trapping its victim, the velvet worm injects it with enzymes and sucks up the pre-digested flesh.

In Japan, firefly squid - or hotaru ika, as the locals call them - rise 600 metres (2,000 feet) to the surface of the water and light it up with their electric blue bioluminescence.

Australian scientists are creating a new herpes-blocking drug using a protein found in the blood of abalones. If successful, it could prevent the virus from entering human cells, thereby prevent future outbreaks of cold sores.

Trampe is the world's first bicycle lift intended for urban areas. The prototype was built in 1993. During its 15 years of operation, Trampe pushed more than 200.000 cyclists up the 130 m long hill Brubakken in Trondheim, Norway.

This weather-tracking glass sphere can concentrate sunlight up to 10,000 times, and generate electricity even on a cloudy day. According to its researchers, this solar-harvesting device is 35% more efficient than traditional flat panels. It also looks really good.

Woah. This is an Alligator Snapping Turtle from the Suwanee River in Florida, and you don't want to mess with it - it delivers a nasty bite and can hold onto its victims for several HOURS. This guy was caught as part of routine environmental surveys involving Professor Arthur Georges, the Chief Scientist of the Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra.

What's whiter than white? These Cyphochilus beetles from Southeast Asia. Their scales are whiter than paper, and no human technology can replicate their brilliance.

Twice a year, locals in central Nepal scale the Himalayan foothills to harvest honey produced by the world's largest honeybee (Apis dorsata laboriosa). Single adult bees of this species can measure up to 3.0 cm (1.2 in) in length, and are highly adapted to its highland habitat.

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The Schiller Effect (aventurescence) is an optical illusion that makes stones such as labradorite appear to light up internally. The layering of different minerals at a scale near the wavelength of light causes the scattering and interference effect.

The Brazilian Jaboticaba tree well and truly takes advantage of all the surface area on its trunk by growing its sweet, grape-like fruits all over it. It's said to have evolved its trunk-fruit so animals could reach them and distribute the seeds.

Ever seen 'memory metal' in action? Watch this paperclip - made from an incredible shape-shifting metal called Nitinol - be bent completely out of shape and then restored instantly as it touches a simple bowl of warm water.

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No pun intended, but nut allergies are getting more and more common. Now, new research suggests that by changing the protein structure of nuts, we may be able to create hypoallergenic nuts that even the severely allergic can eat. Which begs the question, would you risk eating these chemically modified nuts?

Source: http://news.sciencemag.org/chemistry/2014/08/chemical-modification-could-make-nuts-safe-eat ...

The earthquake that struck Chile in 2010 was the sixth largest ever recorded - and made itself felt as far away as Antarctica. After the quake, several Antarctic seismic stations registered "icequakes," probably due to fracturing of the ice as the planet’s crust shook.

Meet Italy’s double tree, the Bialbero de Casorzo. That cherry tree on top isn't being parasitic - its roots have grown right through the hollow truck of the mulberry tree into the earth below, so there's no stealing of nutrients going on here.

A DNA ring, to remember what makes you, you.

Available here: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/151577190/18k-gold-dna-strand-ring?ref=shop_home_active_22[/center]

This prawn-like, deep-sea creature lives at a depth of 7 km and measures more than 25 cm in length.

The largest aquatic insect in the world has been discovered in China, with a wingspan of 21 cm. And those enormous tusks? They're for mating.

Native to the Amazon Basin, the leaves of Victoria lilies can grow up to 3 metres in diameter and they have enormous 8-metre-long stalks.

Dallol in Ethiopia is not only the hottest inhabited place on Earth, it's also one of the weirdest. Between 1960 and 1966, the average annual temperature was a toasty 35°C (96°F), but the temperature can regularly creep to over 46°C (115°f).

At 48 metres below sea level, Dallol is Earth's lowest land volcano, and its last recorded eruption was in 1926. Its craters contains hot springs that boast a whole range of otherworldly colours - including neon yellow - thanks to the hot magma bubbling below the surface. This magma heats the groundwater that flows into the area from the nearby highlands, and as the heated groundwater moves up towards the surface, it dissolves salt, sulphur, potash and other minerals and deposits them in the Dallol crat ...

Doctors bow in reverence to cancer victim, Liang Yaoyi, in China. Nine-year-old Liang died from a brain tumour and donated his organs because, "There are many people doing great things in the world. I want to be a great kid too." What an incredible person.

It's official: a deep-sea octopus has broken the world record for time spent defending her eggs. After 4.5 years, they've finally hatched, so someone pass Octomum eight glasses of wine - she's earned them!

Although it may look perfectly round from Earth, the Moon isn’t a sphere. New research suggests that because of the way it was formed it’s more like a lemon, with a bulge in the middle.

This is what the grooves of a vinyl record look like under an electron microscope.

Dozens of stones up to 300 kg in weight are traveling for hundreds of metres across a dried lake in America. But no one's ever seen them do it. So, what's making these Death Valley 'sailing stones' move?