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MARS PATHFINDER LOOKS BACK SPECIAL REPORT: New Victories against HIV JULY 1998 $4.95 The invisible charms of a winged Don Juan Copyright 1998 Scientific American, Inc. July 1998 Vo l u m e 2 7 9 Numb e r 1 SPECIAL REPORT FROM THE EDITORS 8 LETTERS TO THE EDITORS 10 50, 100 AND 150 YEARS AGO 81 Defeating AIDS: What Will It Take? Infections with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, continue to sweep the world. Cures and vaccines remain elusive, although the search goes on. The good news is that safer behaviors and—for those with access to proper care—better drug treatments and tests can save or extend lives. These leading investigators describe the state of the fight against HIV today and the prospects for winning tomorrow. 12 82 HIV 1998: The Global Picture Jonathan M. Mann and Daniel J. M. Tarantola NEWS 84 Improving HIV Therapy AND John G. Bartlett and Richard D. Moore ANALYSIS 88 How Drug Resistance Arises Douglas D. Richman Plasma helix (page 37) IN FOCUS Census without consensus: a political fight over how to count. 17 SCIENCE AND THE CITIZEN Inflation chases the expanding universe…. Virtual anthropology…. Miscarried males…. The earth drags space…. Arms imports. 19 PROFILE Scientist Stanton A. Glantz spoke, and the tobacco industry fumed. 30 TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS Black market in CFCs…. America’s Cup racers sail into the lab…. Computers that feel your pain…. Richter-scale models…. Fusion plasma spirals. 90 Viral-Load Tests Provide Valuable Answers John W. Mellors 94 When Children Harbor HIV Catherine M. Wilfert and Ross E. McKinney, Jr. 96 Preventing HIV Infection Thomas J. Coates and Chris Collins