Zimmer, Carl. "Two Strains of H.I.V. Cut Vastly Different Paths." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 09 Mar. 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
This New York Times article by Carl Zimmer focuses on the strains of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, and how they have evolved differently. The deadly virus consists of two unique types, HIV 1, which is the virus that has killed 39 million people and infected twice as many, and HIV 2, which is only found in remote regions of western Africa. Since the HIV outbreak in the 1980’s, scientists have been working to piece together the background and evolution of the different strains of HIV. It is currently believed that the horrific disease that has decimated millions of people originated from a form of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus, which is found in several monkey species, particularly the Sooty Mangabey breed. SIV has been around in gorillas and chimpanzees for thousands of years but the virus only spread to humans in the early 1900’s when hunters probably ate infected meat. HIV 1 has been separated into four different groups, M,N,O,P. Group M is responsible for almost ninety percent of HIV 1 infections and group N is from a similar species of monkey. However, no one had the slightest idea where groups O and P originated. In 2006, a team of scientists made a shocking discovery, the first SIV in gorillas. This species of gorillas was found to be the origin of the two mystery strains of HIV. The chemical in your body that fights HIV is called tetherin and it works to contain the virus to smaller amounts of your cells. The O and P strains have not adapted to the tetherin protein as well as the other groups, probably because of the multitude of genetic differences between gorillas and chimpanzees. Also, in the 1990’s, someone infected with group M traveled to Kinshasa, the rapidly expanding capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This created the boom that was necessary to turn group M from a regional disease to a worldwide epidemic. “M got into Kinshasa and went boom,” said Beatrice H. Hahn, a microbiologist at the University of Pennsylvania. “If the O group had similar chances, we might have had a second epidemic”. However, because the other groups did not experience the expansion that group M did, as well as having a different chemical makeup, the human race was saved from another fatal wave of HIV.
This recent discovery plays a huge role in the understanding of the HIV virus, which has affected families all across the U.S. Understanding where the disease originated not only will help eradicate the virus, but it will help us understand the nature of Simian diseases and whether any other types may be harmful to humans. The new research has also contributed to the understanding of the genetic code of HIV and may help virologists extensively in their search for a cure for HIV, something that has eluded them for over thirty years. These new studies of the forgotten HIV strains will aid the understanding of HIV and if one of these strains were to break out in the future, scientists would be prepared.
In my opinion, Carl Zimmer did an admirable job in this article which attempted to explain some confusing topics. There were several things that stood out to me about the article. First of all, his inclusion of quotes from various experts contributed to his argument and solidified his major points. Furthermore, though the events had happened in the past, Zimmer created a good evolution of the events and added suspense to his writing. Finally, I thought he did a nice job explaining the two different types of HIV and this was extremely helpful, particularly to someone who does not have background in science. However, I believe that some of the other scientific terms could have been better explained, such as the protein tetherin and its function. He also could have improved his background on the devastating effects of the HIV virus. This would have created a better sense of how important this research is to the understanding of HIV.
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