CHICAGO, July 16: At an ill-fated press conference in 1984, US Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler boldly predicted an effective AIDS vaccine would be available within just two years. But a string of failed attempts – punctuated by a 2007 trial in which a Merck vaccine appeared to make people more vulnerable to infection, not less – cast a shadow over AIDS vaccine research that has taken years to dispel. (agencies)