New research provides details of how the structure of the HIV-1 virus is assembled, findings that offer potential new targets for treatment.
The study, authored by a multi-institutional team led by Cornell University researchers, was published in the journal Nature. It reports that a small molecule called IP6 plays key roles in the immature development of the virus - which occurs within an infected cell - and in the mature development of the virus, which occurs after the virus buds out of the cell membrane and cleaves from the cell.
“This small molecule acts in two different assembly steps in the pathway,” said Robert Dick, a postdoctoral researcher and the paper’s first author. Dick works in the lab of Volker Vogt, professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and the paper’s senior author.
The findings open the door to possible new therapies. One option is for researchers to develop or identify compounds that are similar to IP6 and could bind to the same sites as IP6, thereby blocking it and preventing the virus from maturing.
“A cell can make millions of virus particles, but if they don’t go through the maturation process, they are not infectious,” Dick said.
Co-authors included teams of researchers from the University of Delaware; the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany; the Institute of Science and Technology in Klosterneuburg, Austria; and the University of Missouri.
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the German Research Foundation.
Source: Cornell University
How Contaminated Is Your Stretcher? The Hidden Risks on Hospital Wheels
July 3rd 2025Despite routine disinfection, hospital surfaces, such as stretchers, remain reservoirs for harmful microbes, according to several recent studies. From high-touch areas to damaged mattresses and the effectiveness of antimicrobial coatings, researchers continue to uncover persistent risks in environmental hygiene, highlighting the critical need for innovative, continuous disinfection strategies in health care settings.
Beyond the Surface: Rethinking Environmental Hygiene Validation at Exchange25
June 30th 2025Environmental hygiene is about more than just shiny surfaces. At Exchange25, infection prevention experts urged the field to look deeper, rethink blame, and validate cleaning efforts across the entire care environment, not just EVS tasks.
A Controversial Reboot: New Vaccine Panel Faces Scrutiny, Support, and Sharp Divides
June 26th 2025As the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under sweeping changes by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the national spotlight turned to the panel’s legitimacy, vaccine guidance, and whether science or ideology would steer public health policy in a polarized era.