The Geektaran Stratagem

Enough of space stuff. Some down-to-Earth geeky things. Start with some good news - or at least may become good news.

On the heels of World AIDS Day comes a stunning medical breakthrough: Doctors believe an HIV-positive man who underwent a stem cell transplant has been cured as a result of the procedure.

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the "Berlin Patient," received the transplant in 2007 as part of a lengthy treatment course for leukemia.

His doctors recently published a report in the journal Blood affirming that the results of extensive testing "strongly suggest that cure of HIV infection has been achieved."

Brown's case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through genetically-engineered stem cells.

This, as should be obvious from that last sentence, is not a cure. But if confirmed it is indeed a breakthrough. With some 33 million people worldwide who are HIV-positive and live with the day-to-day potential of developing full-blown AIDS, the potential this presents for improving life is major.