Imaging solves mystery of how large HIV protein functions to form infectious virus

Scientists have determined the molecular structure of HIV Pol, a protein that plays a key role in the late stages of HIV replication, or the process through which the virus propagates itself and spreads through the body. Importantly, determining the molecule’s structure helps answer longstanding questions about how the protein breaks itself apart to advance the replication process. The discovery reveals a new vulnerability in the virus that could be targeted with drugs.