Why is this important? In 1946 the British Medical Research Council established the Common Cold Unit. It was commissioned to develop a cure for the common cold, which is why they didn't call it the Hemmorhoid Brigade. By 1989 the unit was disbanded for lack of progress. The common cold is caused by an RNA virus. Those types of viruses mutate at a rapid pace. Granted the fundies don't believe in genetic mutations over time but they do occur despite this absense of faith. DNA mutates at a manageable pace. The molecule contains information that helps prevent copying mistakes; it is a type of checksum. RNA lacks such a mechanism. As a result, it mutates ten-thousand to a million times more rapidly than DNA, depended on the strand.

To understand the ramifications of this information, consider smallpox and influenza. The former has been eradicated in "the wild" while the latter is a yearly problem. Smallpox is a DNA virus. A single vaccine lasts for years, perhaps decades. My grade school smallpox shot may still get me through a biological attack. An influenza vaccine may or may not get you through the winter. The flu vaccine is unreliable since influenza is in constant flux.

Now consider HIV. If Chris Jennings is correct, the virus that causes AIDs mutates five times faster than influenza. The only thing an AIDs vaccine will create is a false sense of security. While HIV has only infected humans for the last forty-five years we can expect to see it for centuries to come. It is for this reason, that we've got to do all we can to stop these jackasses.