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Originally Posted by FAX
Thanks, Mr. 'Hamas' Jenkins. I'm a little confused on point 1, though. My understanding was that the HIV virus actually converts RNA to DNA which then combines with the host cell DNA. Incorrect?
FAX
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No, you're right. The virus itself has only RNA, but after it injects itself into the host cell it essentially hijacks the machinery of the cell and then due to an enzyme known as reverse transcriptase, can create DNA.
The first major AIDS drugs (including AZT), were reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Unfortunately, the virus quickly builds a resistance to them, which is why doctors often prescribe two, along with a protease inhibitor.
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"When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
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