Avery Lawrence is a College senior from Charlottesville, Va. His e-mail address is lawrence@dailypennsylvanian.com.

While many researchers say an AIDS vaccine is distant - and some declare the prospect unrealistic - Pathology and Laboratory Medicine professor Carl June is pioneering a new gene therapy that could convert the HIV virus in a patient's body into a less harmful form.

The Nominations and Elections Committee announced the results of the 2008-2009 student government elections last night after two violation charges postponed the results from Tuesday. The Nominations and Elections Committee disqualified Class of 2011 College representative and UA candidate Lauren Albert following a violation brought by College freshman Marcus Goodwin, who also ran for College representative.

Before heading back on the road, the Penn's women's lacrosse team still has to tie up one loose end at home. The Quakers (8-1, 3-0 Ivy) look to extend their six-game win streak against Harvard at Franklin Field on Sunday. On paper, the Quakers should breeze to a win.

Walking-escort use is down for the year, but went up in March. Thus far this year, 2,376 walking escorts have been used. At this point in 2007, 2,985 walking-escort requests had been made. In March this year, 874 escorts were used compared to 840 last March.

When the men's tennis team faces off against Brown and Yale at Lott Courts this weekend, junior Justin Fox hopes "history will repeat itself." Penn has beaten both New England schools by a 5-2 margin, each of the last two years and wants to make it three in a row.

All patients are not completely satisfied with their treatment at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, but the hospital scored above average on a recent government survey of patients. On average, 67 percent of patients surveyed nationwide said they would definitely recommend their hospital to others.

Penn students with internships in New York City this summer will have no guessing to do when it comes to calorie counting. With a new regulation by New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, scheduled to take effect on April 15, all New York branches of national chain restaurants must post calorie counts on their menus.

While most of his peers were playing little league baseball and Pop Warner football, senior Ben Nace was focusing on a more unorthodox athletic pursuit - becoming a world-class rower. Although he now hails from Dallas, Nace credits his family's northeastern roots for inspiring him to pursue his passion for rowing.

In its second weekend of Ivy play, the Penn women's tennis team faces opponents at two ends of the spectrum Yale (5-8, 1-0 Ivy) has butted heads with a number of national powerhouses; Brown (9-5, 0-1 Ivy) is a middling team with a schedule softer than a Tempur-pedic.

Despite recent attention from the Division of Public Safety on unattended theft, the number of theft-related crimes has skyrocketed so far this year. DPS officials said there were 30 reports of thefts during the month of March, bringing the total to 97 for 2008 so far.

Harvard's record is a measly 1-17 overall and 0-2 in the Ivy League. Dartmouth was dead last in the Rolfe Division last year. But Penn's top starting pitcher and captain Todd Roth is not looking forward to the northward road trip his team has on tap. "It's probably gonna be a really long weekend," he said.

Penn is looking for tenants to fill two empty area storefronts, but has not yet made a decision about any potential new businesses on campus. University Jewelers, located at 3401 Walnut Street, closed this past Monday. It is the second store to close or move this academic year.

As the Pennsylvania primary heats up, it may be a former Quaker and Clinton supporter who holds the key to victory for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). At a number of Pennsylvania rallies, Gov. Ed Rendell - a 1965 Penn alumnus - has used his energy and organization to turn out support for New York Sen.

When College junior Eduardo Orozco decided to leave his native Mexico and attend college at Penn, he was looking forward to being a part of the American political process. "College in the U.S. offers an opportunity to be more engaged," said Orozco, a double-major in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and Urban Studies.

As the Penn men's lacrosse team ran onto the practice field yesterday, shouting and cheering, it was clear that last Saturday's 13-5 loss against No. 8 Cornell wasn't on anybody's mind. The focus this week has been tomorrow's matchup with Dartmouth (4-4, 0-1 Ivy).

For Wharton freshman Aneesh Jain, the Philadelphia Film Festival, which kicked off last night, is a "forced good opportunity." Jain - who is required to attend the festival for a Cinema Studies class - is just the type of viewer festival organizers say they are trying to attract.