A LIFESAVING "COCKTAIL"

An inactivated polio virus could be altered to fight AIDS and other diseases, California researchers say in the journal Science. A team at the University of California, San Francisco, says it created an immune response in lab animals with a "vaccine cocktail" made by inserting gene fragments from other viruses into polio-virus particles. While the scientists say the technique needs at least two more years of research before it can be tested on humans, they expect it might eventually yield vaccines against AIDS, influenza, pneumonia and other contagious diseases. Next in line for the test shots: monkeys.