Life Cycle of HIV See the full Quicktime movie (10MB) | Get QuickTime See HIV in Action 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. Viral Entry Viral Gene Transfer Viral Exit Search for a Vaccine | See HIV in Action | AIDS in Perspective The Virus Fighters | Fighting Back | Help/Resources Teacher's Guide | Transcript | Site Map | Surviving AIDS Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated October 2000