In subsequent research, a defect was found in one of the nine genes present in the AIDS virus. Viruses with the defective gene may not be able to reproduce as much and thus be kept in check by the immune system. Before this, scientists have been unsuccessful in trying to produce a strain of HIV that is harmless but can ilicit an immune response. Another application of this discovery is its use in developing drugs that inhibit gene products that increase the virus's replication. It seems that the protein produced from the nef gene is one of these critical gene products, because viruses with defective forms of nef do not reproduce much, as in the cases of the six Australians.
Research is currently underway to develop a drug that targets the nef protein.