HIV Revealed

IN the relatively brief period since the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its identification as the cause of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), an extraordinary amount of information has emerged about the genetic structure of the virus and the intricacies of the in vitro biologic process of viral infection. However, because the circumstances of infection can be readily manipulated in the laboratory, whereas reliable data on the progress of infection in humans are difficult to obtain, much less is known about how HIV initiates and maintains a natural infection. Humans are genetically heterogeneous, lead idiosyncratic lives, and . . .