Summary: The Supersized Science podcast features research and discoveries nationwide enabled by advanced computing technology and expertise at the Texas Advanced Computing Center of the University of Texas at Austin. Jorge Salazar, a science writer at TACC, hosts the podcast. Much remains to be discovered on how the HIV-1 virus infects our cells. Scientists know that it slips past the defenses of our immune system, entering white blood cells to deliver its genetic payload and hijack the cell's transcription machinery that in turn cranks out copies of viral RNA and new HIV-1 viruses. But many of the details remain hazy. A major experimental made in 2021 shed some light on the mystery and found that the viral capsid, a protein envelope protecting its RNA genome, remains intact all the way into the nucleus of the target cell. Ultimately, the capsid has to stay stable long enough to take its deadly genetic cargo into the nucleus of the cell. But in the end, it has to break apart to release its genetic material. What scientists don't yet know is how and why the HIV-1 viral capsid can become unstable. The Frontera supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at The University of Texas at Austin has furthered scientists' understanding of how the HIV-1 virus infects and helped generate the first realistic simulations of its capsid, complete with its proteins, water, genetic material, and a key cofactor called IP6 recently discovered to stabilize and help form the capsid. On the podcast to talk more about his recent study on HIV-1 using Frontera is Gregory Voth, the Haig P. Papazian Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. Supersized Science is part of the Texas Podcast Network – the conversations changing the world – brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. The opinions expressed in this podcast represent the views of the hosts, and not of The University of Texas at Austin. Story Link: https://www.tacc.utexas.edu/-/supercomputing-helps-reveal-weaknesses-in-hiv-1-armor- Music Credit: Raro Bueno, Chuzausen freemusicarchive.org/music/Chuzausen/
