Patience Mthunzi, a laser scientist, intends to cure HIV with a laser treatment instead of the current treatment done by taking a pill. Mthunzi begins her TEDTalk with an example of taking an aspirin when having a headache. When the pill is ingested, it first goes through the stomach, intestines and many organs before even reaching the spot of pain. The problem with this is that swallowing any medication leads to it being diluted.
This is especially problematic with patients who have HIV as they are required to take anti-HIV pills in order to keep the disease from spreading throughout the body. However, with a pill that ends up being diluted before reaching the HIV viral reservoirs, the treatment is less effective than it could be.
While Mthunzi is currently working on the laser treatment in test tubes and Petri dishes, she believes this could one day be a potential cure for HIV. In order to learn how the laser treatment works and to find out more information on this potential cure, check out the video below!
https://www.ted.com/talks/patience_mthunzi_could_we_cure_hiv_with_lasers#