HIV - Science of HIV and AIDS

How HIV Causes AIDS: A Fact Sheet from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
HIV and Other Lentiviruses: Horses, sheep, goats, cows, and cats each suffer from viruses similar to HIV. (NIAID< 1995)
The Fusin Protein: The mechanics of cell infection (GMHC, 1995)

Surviving AIDS: This is an awesome web site from the NOVA TV series that includes several simple multimedia explanations of the virus. (WGBH/PBS, 1999)
The Age of AIDS: On the 25th anniversary of the first diagnosed cases of AIDS, FRONTLINE examines one of the worst pandemics the world has ever known in "The Age of AIDS." After a quarter century of political denial and social stigma, of stunning scientific breakthroughs, bitter policy battles and inadequate prevention campaigns, HIV/AIDS continues to spread rapidly throughout much of the world, particularly in developing nations. To date, some 30 million people worldwide have already died of AIDS.

The Immune System

All About Immune Cells: An overview of the normal physiological role of CD4 cells, and also describes how they interact with other components of the immune system, such as CD8 cells, B cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. (STEP, 1993)
Innate Immunity: (AIDSWeekly, 1996)
All about Cytokines: Cytokines are chemicals (such as the interferons and interleukins) that are made by the immune system. The immune system releases certain cytokines to help recruit cells and manage the fight against infections. Once the infection is cured other cytokines are released which help to 'turn off' the response against the infection. (CATIE, 1995)

The Science Behind The Treatments

How Non-nucleoside Analogue Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors Work: (ATU, 1996)
How Protease Inhibitors Work: (GMHC, 1994)
Intro To Chemokine Receptors: In addition to protease inhibitors and drugs like AZT, chemokine-based therapies would be directed against a different point in the life cycle of HIV. These new therapies may actually prevent the virus from infecting cells and limit the transmission of HIV. (STEP, 1997)
Other Chemokine Receptors Information at AEGIS
HIV Tat Disrupts Accessory-Cell Function: AIDSWeekly, 1998)
All About Integrase Inhibitors: (GMHC, 1995)

Challenges Ahead

Origins of the Disease

Theory AIDS came from contaminated polio vaccine is false: study: An international team of scientists says it has refuted a theory that AIDS originated in a contaminated oral polio vaccine used in the then Belgian Congo in the 1950s. (Agence France Presse, 2004)
Contaminated polio vaccine theory NOT refuted: [Edward Hooper's response to the latest brief communication in Nature by Michael Worobey, Beatrice Hahn and colleagues, entitled "Contaminated Polio Vaccine Theory Refuted". Nature; 2004; 428; 820.]
One AIDS Form Jumped to Humans by 1940: One form of the virus that causes AIDS made the jump from animals to people by 1940, a new analysis indicates. (Associated Press, 2003)
Tests trace HIV's origin to chimps: After analyzing the genetic makeup of a similar virus that infects chimpanzees, scientists from the University of Alabama at Birmingham say that one subspecies of chimpanzee harbors a virus that gave rise to the current epidemic. (Dallas Morning News, 1999)
Study of HIV's history could offer look at future: Knowing the epidemic's history satisfies more than academic curiosity. The past behavior of the disease may provide a glimpse of the future that can help the development of a vaccine and guide prevention efforts. (Dallas Morning News, 1999)

Sailors and star-bursts, and the arrival of HIV: Tracking the origins and early history of a newly recognized disease is more than just an academic exercise. Learning about the origins of a disease may help us to control it and also to prevent similar diseases arising in the future.
AIDS Origins: Edward Hooper's site devoted to the origin of AIDS.