Virologist and HIV researcher Peter Duesberg, author of the 1996 book "Inventing the AIDS Virus," has long challenged the mainstream medical theory linking HIV to AIDS, arguing that the widely accepted virus-AIDS hypothesis lacks sufficient scientific evidence. Duesberg contends that AIDS, which encompasses 30 pre-existing conditions, does not consistently align with HIV infection, questioning whether HIV is the true cause or merely a marker. Instead, Duesberg proposes that recreational drug use, malnutrition and other factors may play a larger role in the disease's development.