But what those locks looked like and how the HIV key opened them were a mystery. Not any longer. Using an exacting imaging technique called X-ray crystallography that shows the precise spatial relationship of atoms within a large molecule, the team of scientists was able to lay bare the structure of the gp120 protein and its two favorite receptors. The result is a detailed, computer-generated snapshot of the HIV infection process that is as starkly beautiful as it is informative. Just because HIV can outfox the immune system, however, doesn't mean it will always outmaneuver drug developers.
Most drugs are very small molecules, much smaller than antibodies.
Properly designed drugs might be able to infiltrate some of those crevices in HIV's outer walls. There's no guarantee that such an approach will work. But it's certainly easier to try when you have a picture in front of you showing you where to begin. The Little Country That Could Suriname's pristine tropical rain forests are coveted by Asian timber companies. Conservation International, which brokered the deal, hopes it will be a model for other developing countries.