Gene help in Aids

The waves of plague that swept through Europe during medieval times right up to the 18th century may have contributed to a genetic make-up that has made a significant proportion of the European population resistant to Aids, according to new British research.

Christopher Duncan and Susan Scott of Liverpool University's School of Biological Sciences have created a mathematical model of genetic mutation in response to plague, according to a report in the Times.

These mutations arose with each stage of plague outbreak from the Black Death in 1347 to the Great Plague of London (1665-66) and the Plague of Copenhagen more than half a century later, the biologists wrote in the Journal of Medical Genetics.

Their research suggests that around 10 per cent of Europeans enjoy protection against Aids.