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HIV Might be Dormant in Brain, New Study Suggests

A colorized electron microscope image shows a single humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV) as it buds from a human immune cell,which the virus had infected. (NIAID via AP)
A colorized electron microscope image shows a single humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV) as it buds from a human immune cell,which the virus had infected. (NIAID via AP)
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HIV Might be Dormant in Brain, New Study Suggests

A colorized electron microscope image shows a single humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV) as it buds from a human immune cell,which the virus had infected. (NIAID via AP)
A colorized electron microscope image shows a single humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV) as it buds from a human immune cell,which the virus had infected. (NIAID via AP)

A new study published June 16 in the Journal of Clinical Investigations, found that microglial cells, specialized immune cells with a long lifespan in the brain, can serve as a stable viral reservoir for latent HIV.

 

As a part of its life cycle, the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) inserts a copy of its DNA into human immune cells. Some of these newly infected immune cells can then transition into a dormant, latent state for a long period of time.

 

Although current therapies, such current antiretroviral therapy (ART), can successfully block the virus from replicating further, it cannot eradicate latent HIV. If treatment is ever discontinued, the virus can rebound from latency and reignite the progression of HIV infection to AIDS.

 

In the new study, led by scientists from the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine, it has been confirmed that microglial cells can serve as a stable viral reservoir for latent HIV. The team studied the brains of macaques with the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a virus that is closely related to HIV, to get a better understanding of how to extract and purify viable cells from primate brain tissue.

 

Researchers used physical separation techniques and antibodies to selectively remove microglial cells. Using these techniques, researchers then obtained samples that were donated by HIV+ people who were enrolled in “The Last Gift” Study at the University of California San Diego (UCSD).

 

The study involved altruistic HIV+ people, who are taking ART but suffering from other terminal illnesses, will their bodies to further the HIV research project. Now that the researchers know that latent HIV can take refuge in microglial cells in the brain, they are considering plans to target this type of reservoir.

 

“Since latent HIV in the brain is radically different from the virus in the periphery, researchers believe that it has adapted special characteristics to replicate in the brain,” explained first author Yuyang Tang, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at UNC.

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Eggs Are Less Likely to Crack When Dropped on Their Side, According to Science

Fresh eggs are delivered along with chickens and a portable chicken coop to a client’s house as part of the "Rent The Chicken" service in La Crescenta, California, on April 21, 2025. (AFP)
Fresh eggs are delivered along with chickens and a portable chicken coop to a client’s house as part of the "Rent The Chicken" service in La Crescenta, California, on April 21, 2025. (AFP)
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Eggs Are Less Likely to Crack When Dropped on Their Side, According to Science

Fresh eggs are delivered along with chickens and a portable chicken coop to a client’s house as part of the "Rent The Chicken" service in La Crescenta, California, on April 21, 2025. (AFP)
Fresh eggs are delivered along with chickens and a portable chicken coop to a client’s house as part of the "Rent The Chicken" service in La Crescenta, California, on April 21, 2025. (AFP)

Eggs are less likely to crack when they fall on their side, according to experiments with over 200 eggs.

What does this mean for the best way to crack an egg for breakfast? Not much, since a break around the middle is the best way to get the golden yolk and runny whites to ooze out.

But scientists said it could help with hard-boiling eggs in a pot: Dropping eggs in horizontally may be less likely to cause a stray crack that can unleash the egg's insides in a puffy, cloudy mess.

It's commonly thought that eggs are strongest at their ends — after all, it's how they're packaged in the carton. The thinking is that the arc-shaped bottom of an egg redirects the force and softens the blow of impact.

But when scientists squeezed eggs in both directions during a compression test, they cracked under the same amount of force.

"The fun started when we thought we would get one result and then we saw another," said Hudson Borja da Rocha with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who helped run the experiments.

The researchers also ran simulations and dropped eggs horizontally and vertically from three short heights up to 0.4 inches (10 millimeters).

The egg result? The ones dropped horizontally cracked less.

"The common sense is that the egg in the vertical direction is stronger than if you lay the egg down. But they proved that's not the case," said materials scientist Marc Meyers with the University of California, San Diego who was not involved with the new study.

Scientists found that the egg's equator was more flexible and absorbed more of the energy of the fall before cracking. The findings were published Thursday in the journal Communications Physics.

Eggs are also usually nestled top-down into homemade contraptions for egg drop challenges as part of school STEM projects, which partially inspired the new study. It's not yet clear whether the new results will help protect these vulnerable eggs, which are dropped at much loftier heights.

It's a bit counterintuitive that the oblong side of an egg could hold up better against a tumble, said study co-author Tal Cohen with Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Countless broken eggs show "the courage to go and challenge these very common, accepted notions," Cohen said.