CHEM 115(S) AIDS: The Disease and Search for a Cure

Since the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) in 1983, modern techniques of molecular biology have revealed much about its structure and life cycle. The intensity of the scientific investigation directed at HIV-1 is unprecedented in history. We now know more about this virus than perhaps any other known pathogen. However, the early optimism concerning the prospects for an effective AIDS vaccine has now waned and HIV strains that are resistant to drug therapies are common. We are now more than a decade into the AIDS pandemic and the World Health Organization estimates that 10 million children and 30-40 million adults will be HIV-infected by the year 2000. We examine the molecular biology of the HIV virus, the molecular targets of anti-HIV drugs, and the prospects for cure. We discuss the origin, epistemology and modes of transmission of HIV-1 and HIV-2, and look at how HIV-1 interacts with the human immune system. We also discuss both old and new methods of vaccine development and the prospects for making an effective AIDS vaccine. This course is designed for the non-science major who does not intend to pursue a career in the natural sciences. Evaluation will be based on problem sets, two hour tests, quizzes, and a final exam. Lectures: three hours a week.

Hour: LOVETT