Dr. David Harrich of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research reveals new HIV treatment that stops virus replication (Photo: Reuters)

Australian researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research have announced critical developments that can lead to a potential AIDS cure. Have scientists finally cracked one of the deadliest diseases to threaten mankind?

According to Dr. David Harrich and his team, the HIV protein can be modified in such a way that it prevents the AIDS virus from forming or replicating. It is a remarkable breakthrough. Researchers believe this is the beginning of what can possible become a true cure for AIDS.

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"What we've actually done is taken a normal virus protein that the virus needs to grow," said Associate Professor David Harrich. "We've changed this protein, so that instead of assisting the virus, it actually impedes virus replication and does it quite strongly."

So far, the modified protein treatment has only seen success in laboratory trials. The team has yet to conduct the highly experimental treatment on animals or human subjects.

According to the team, animal tests will commence sometime next year but the process may take as long as a decade before it finally receives FDA approval.

Despite the growing global HIV and AIDS awareness, more than 300,000 patients were diagnosed with HIV last year in Australia alone.

AIDS research does not yield results overnight. Dr. David Harrich has dedicated 20 years of his career to find the cure. Harrich shared with the Australian Times his long-overdue eureka moment.

"With money running out, I had my PhD student try one more experiment in late 2007. The experiment was to test if Nullbasic could render HIV non-infectious. The student came back and said it worked, so I told him to do it again and again and again. It works every time."

Be sure to see Professor David Harrich explain his team's findings in the video below.

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