An ancient gene for resistance to HIV has been identified in an individual living near the Black Sea about 6700-9000 years ago. HIV was only identified in the 20th Century, but resistance to it appears to be far older.
The research, published in the journal Cell, describes how a rare genetic mutation named CCR5 delta 32 disables a key immune protein used by a large majority of HIV strains to enter human cells.
Researchers examined the genomes of over 3000 people, 900 of them ancient. For more information, please see Archaeology News.