Supercomputer visualization shows 1.2 microseconds in the life of a 4-million-atom HIV capsid

While some researchers look for drugs to treat HIV, other scientists delve deep into the virus itself for answers on how it causes infections. Using two supercomputers, University of Illinois research scientist Juan R. Perilla and late physics professor Klaus Schulten simulated 1.2 microseconds of the life of the HIV capsid, the structure that contains the virus’s genetic material. The simulation, which took two years to complete, gives us a view of the virus on a molecular level and provides us with insight into how HIV senses its environment and becomes infective. The huge undertaking simulated the dynamics of 64 million atoms in the entire virus particle and revealed information about the stability, forces between atoms, ion permeability, surface waves, and mechanical properties of the HIV-1 capsid. The researchers reported the project results in the July 19 issue of Nature Communications. “We are learning the details of the HIV capsid system, not just the...