Just started reading Virtual Light again. I believe that when you're blogging about Gibson you gotta mention something about acid and typewriters.
Now that's out of the way: the AIDS vaccine. It got me thinking. The cure for AIDS wouldn't be worth that much to the Western World. There are things that pharmacutical companies could better spend thier research funds on, like cancer and heart disease, two things that will only become worse as the baby boomers get older.
The companies looking for an AIDS cure know this. They're not idiots. They have a market already targetted: Africa. Except the African governments won't be able to afford to pay for what they need, which is where aid money comes in. Instead of money being spent on food, education and other health, Western governments will be pretty much giving thier money straight to the pharmacutical companies.