The virologist worked for years at the famous Pasteur Institute in Paris. Two years ago, he sparked controversy with the claim that the coronavirus was created in a Chinese lab, possibly as a result of an attempt to make a vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Montagnier died earlier this week at the age of 89, authorities confirmed after reports in French media.
Whether Montagnier had actually been the first to discover HIV was controversial for a while. The American researcher Robert Gallo also claimed that he had detected the death and destruction-sowing virus. But in the end, the Frenchman along with his team gained the recognition of the scientific world. In 1994 he was awarded the Dr. AH Heineken Prize for medicine.
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