Inside STAT: HIV’s genetic code, hidden in old tissue, adds to signs of virus’ emergence 

Using HIV hidden in lymph node tissue from more than 50 years ago, scientists have sequenced the genetic code of the virus, the oldest such sequence. It provides more evidence for what many scientists have suspected for a long time: that the virus that causes AIDS began infecting people around the beginning of the 20th century. With the new sample — which is from 1966 — scientists are able to tell that viruses that were circulating in the 1960s were already genetically diverse, which means that they had been evolving for a long time. And all of this work can help scientists better estimate when these viruses may have made the jump from primates to people. STAT’s Helen Branswell has more on this case of virologic archaeology.