Giving Compass' Take:

· With the help of gene-editing technology and a slow-release antiviral drug, scientist from Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center have been able to eliminate HIV in mice. 

· What does this news mean about developing a cure for humans? In what ways can donors support more research into developing a cure for HIV?

· Check out this article about the second case of HIV being cured.

Researchers say they've successfully eliminated HIV from the DNA of infected mice for the first time, bringing them one step closer to curing the virus in humans.

Scientists from Temple University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center were able to eliminate the virus using a combination of gene-editing technology and a slow-release antiviral drug, according to a study published Tuesday in Nature Communications.

"The possibility exists that HIV can be cured," Howard Gendelman, chairman of UNMC's pharmacology and experimental neuroscience department and study author. "It’s going to take a little bit of time but to have the proof of concept gets us all excited."

Nearly 37 million people are living with HIV, according to UNAIDS, which if left untreated can develop into AIDS. Current HIV treatment involves daily, lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) which suppresses the virus' ability to replicate, but doesn't eliminate the virus from the body.

Read the full article about progress with HIV by N'dea Yancey-Bragg at USA Today.