Cyber purchase

Free software are flooding the market and every company now appoints personnel to keep a vigil over the Internet in order to keep a tab on whatever seems to have a potential to lure tech-savvy consumers. This prevailing trend is decentralising the software industry as reported in the article Software out there (April 17). With companies like Google and Microsoft also purchasing locally developed software to boost up their sales, it seems that the trend is likely to stay for a while; as these locally developed software can be easily rolled over quickly and therefore can be used as a tool to give the competitors a run for their money

Avishekh Ghosh
New Barrackpore, Cal- 131

Is HIV the culprit?

It was enlightening to know that a team of Indian researchers are tracking genetic materials (MiRNA) with the potential to combat the dreaded disease ? AIDS (The human-HIV truce, April 17). A group of scientists have been opposing the HIV-AIDS hypothesis ever since the announcement of the connection between AIDS and HIV virus. Peter Duesberg, a molecular biologist at the University of California, proposed that that HIV is just a passenger retrovirus and which has never been proven to be a sexually transmitted one. Nobel Laureate Kary Mullis and Walter Gilbert also support the views of Duesberg.

Dr S.K. Rudra
Sonamukhi, Bankura

Eradicating AIDS

The human-HIV truce, (April 17) highlighted the honest and sincere efforts being made by a team of Indian researchers to eradicate the dreaded AIDS. However, it would be a great help if the researchers should also try to device certain drugs, which can be used to extend the lifeline of those infected with the virus in our country. Perhaps genomics and gene therapy can help in deriving such drugs.

Kaustav Datta
Cooch-Behar