Use protection, Mr. Monkey!

Threatened chimps may hold key to AIDS mystery
By Andrew Quinn
Wed Jun 8, 8:37 AM ET

DURBAN (Reuters) - Chimpanzees may hold vital clues for mankind's war against the AIDS virus, but the apes could be wiped out before they reveal their secrets, a leading genetic expert warned on Wednesday.
Paul Sharp of Britain's University of Nottingham told an AIDS conference in Durban that the latest research indicated that chimpanzees -- humanity's closest living relative -- were an important but increasingly endangered resource for scientists hoping to better understand the HIV virus.
Chimpanzee populations are infected with viruses which closely resemble the HIV-1 strain of the AIDS virus which is most common among humans.
Unlike humans, however, chimps do not progress to full-blown AIDS, an intriguing mystery for researchers who hope to discover how to slow or stop the deadly disease in humans.
"If we can understand chimpanzees maybe we can understand more about how the virus affects humans," Sharp said. "Of course, we need to do that before chimpanzees become extinct."
Some researchers fear Africa's chimpanzees could be wiped out in about 50 years -- even earlier for certain species -- because they are hunted for meat and threatened by deforestation and disease.