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. While attempts to halt the spread of HIV-1 have failed a second AIDS virus (HIV-2) has infected thousands in West Africa. 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. Will science provide a cure for AIDS? One aim of this course is to address that question. We will discuss the historical aspects of viral diseases, the evolution of virulence and the relationship of the two AIDS viruses to each other and to other types of viruses. Other topics will include the origin, epidemiology and modes of transmission of HIV-1 and HIV-2, and a look at how HIV-1 interacts with the human immune system. We will also discuss both old and new methods of vaccine development and the prospects for making an AIDS vaccine using recombinant DNA technology. 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 and a final exam. Lectures: three hours per week.

Hour:  LOVETT