How Long Have HIV’s Ancestors Been Infecting Primates?

Plants and Animals





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Alexander Mazurkevich/Shutterstock.

While many may be deadly, the aim of the game for viruses is not actually to kill the host. Well, not straight away, anyway. A dead host is a dead end as it can’t keep transmitting the pathogen to new hosts. Obviously, if it’s causing trouble, the host will want to get rid of it, rallying defense mechanisms that have evolved over time. Now the virus has to adapt and fight back, selecting advantageous mutations that thwart the host’s.