The CRISPR technology works like "molecular scissors" that can cut DNA at any given point, Endpoints News reported. In theory, a researcher could cut HIV from a patient's DNA. Still, some researchers are skeptical of the success because HIV is known to hide in hard-to-reach places. When Excision's Kamel Khalili, a researcher at Temple, previously used this approach on mice infected with HIV, about one-third were cured. He also led a study, published last year, that used CRISPR to successfully remove SIV — a virus that behaves similarly to HIV — from rhesus macaque monkeys, leaving researchers optimistic that they are getting closer to an HIV cure.