A cure for HIV could be a step closer after researchers found a new way to force the virus out of hiding inside human cells. The virus’s ability to conceal itself inside certain white blood cells has been one of the main challenges for scientists looking for a cure. It means there is a reservoir of the HIV in the body, capable of reactivation, that neither the immune system nor drugs can tackle. The study is laboratory based and was carried out in cells donated by HIV patients. He said the hope that all cells in the body where HIV was hiding could be reached in this way was “merely a dream”.