Once transformed, the viral DNA will travel into the T-cell’s nucleus and sew itself to the cell’s genetic material (a process similar to placing a “bug” in a computer software program). At this point, if the T-cell is activated, instead of performing T-cell functions, it will start producing and shedding new virus. At this stage, several...

The basic structure of HIV is similar to other viruses. HIV has a core of genetic material surrounded by a protective sheath, called a capsid. The genetic material in the core is RNA, ribonucleic acid, which contains the information that the virus needs to reproduce and perform other functions. You can think of RNA as the set of rules the virus follows in order...

Let’s look first at how the immune response coordinated by the T-cell is supposed to work. Please keep in mind that this explains only one of our body’s immune responses. Any infectious agent that enters your body will eventually be taken up in your lymph system. This may happen very soon after infection, or it may not happen until the invader has...

The immune system is a complex network of cells and chemicals. Its mission is to protect us against foreign organisms and substances. The cells in the immune system have the ability to recognize something as either self or invader, and they try to get rid of anything that is invader. Many different kinds of cells, and hundreds of different chemicals, must be...