HIV Structure

Available for over a year

Scientists have used a supercomputer to figure out the structure of HIV’s protective protein capsule coating, or Capsid. They have looked at chemical bonds and atomic level structure, combining millions of separate pieces of data. Knowing this chemical structure could pave the way for a whole range on new treatments for the disease. Researchers in the UK and Malaysia are looking at largely forgotten food grains, some used thousands of years ago, which show drought tolerance and an ability to grow in poor soil. They say taking these traits and applying them in commercial crops could help produce food crops better able to cope with climate change. Culture may be driving genetic changes, rather than the other way around. If we look at the path of human evolution, it’s generally assumed our genes developed from earlier primate forms through mutation. Leading to largely accidental changes which gave one individual an advantage over another. However once we became human and developed societies and culture, new forces were at play. Recent research looking at language argues that the ability to speak might have been triggered by a cultural need rather than simply emerging through genetic mutations. (Image HIV's Capsid. Courtesy: Juan Roberto Perilla)