Dr. José Assouline, a neurobiologist and AIDS
researcher at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, has
spent several years creating the animations below. They
graphically represent the life cycle of HIV-1, from the
initial binding of the viral particle onto a host cell (Viral
Entry), through insinuation into the host cell's nucleus to
spark the formation of new viral RNA strands (Viral Gene
Transfer), and finally to the creation and migration out of
the cell of a new HIV particle, complete with two copies of
viral RNA (Viral Exit).
The complete life cycle is shown below. To see each of the
three steps more slowly, and to learn exactly what's happening
in each, click on the three thumbnail images below.