London: There are fears the cure for Aids could have been lost with 100 of the &ldquo;best and brightest&rdquo; scientists and researchers on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Joep Lange, a world-renowned researcher and former president of the International Aids Society, was with the group heading to the global Aids 2014 conference in Melbourne, Australia.
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<img title="Renowned researcher Joep Lange. File Pic/AFP" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2014/sep/Joep-Lange.jpg" alt="Renowned researcher Joep Lange. File Pic/AFP" /> Renowned researcher Joep Lange. File Pic/AFP
The exact number of scientists he was travelling with has not been confirmed but delegates in Sydney were told that e-mails indicated around 100 attendees were on the ill-fated plane.
Trevor Stratton, a Canadian researcher attending the conference said researchers had been getting close to a vaccine against Aids. &ldquo;What if the cure for AIDS was on that plane? Really? We don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;There were some really prominent researchers that have been doing this for a very long time and we&rsquo;re getting close to vaccines and people are talking about cures and the end of AIDS. And you can&rsquo;t help but wonder what kind of expertise was on that plane.&rdquo;
Professor Richard Boyd, director of the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories, told Guardian Australia there were &ldquo;some serious HIV leaders&rdquo; on board. &ldquo;This will have ramifications globally because whenever you lose a leader in any field, it has an impact. That knowledge is irreplaceable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve lost global leaders and also some bright young people who were coming through. It&rsquo;s a gut-wrenching loss.&rdquo;
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Clive Aspin, a HIV researcher in Australia ahead of the AIDS conference said there was a &ldquo;huge feeling of sadness&rdquo; among delegates, with people crying in corridors. He added: &ldquo;These people were the best and the brightest, the ones who had dedicated their whole careers to fighting this terrible virus.&rdquo;

There are fears the cure for AIDS could have been lost with 100 of the &ldquo;best and brightest&rdquo; scientists and researchers on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17

Was cure for AIDS lost in MH17 crash?

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Was cure for AIDS lost in MH17 crash?

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