Striking evidence has emerged that an ancient virus previously known only from fossil evidence has persistently infected some humans at very low levels for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years. This ancient retrovirus ...
Biotechnology
Apr 4, 2016
4
2365
All animals have evolved thanks to the fact that certain viruses infected primitive organisms hundreds of millions of years ago. Viral genetic material was integrated into the genome of the first multi-cellular beings and ...
Evolution
Jan 24, 2024
0
215
As the world scrambles to control the growing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, new research in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology shows viruses also play a key evolutionary role in mammals' ability to reproduce and survive.
Molecular & Computational biology
Sep 7, 2020
1
281
Viral DNA in human genomes, embedded there from ancient infections, serves as antivirals that protect human cells against certain present-day viruses, according to new research.
Molecular & Computational biology
Oct 27, 2022
0
300
The human genome is riddled with endogenous retroviruses—little pieces of degraded and generally harmless retrovirus DNA passed down through the generations, along with our own genetic information. Because most endogenous ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 6, 2018
0
135
Retroviruses - the family of viruses that includes HIV - are almost half a billion years old, according to new research by scientists at Oxford University. That's several hundred million years older than previously thought ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 10, 2017
0
95
Retroviruses are important pathogens, which have attacked vertebrate hosts for millions of years. Researchers from Uppsala University and Lund University, now provide new knowledge about the long-term interactions of retroviruses ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 22, 2014
0
0
The co-option between viruses and humans plays important roles during human evolution. Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), belonging to long terminal repeat retrotransposons, are a relic of ancient retroviral infection, fixed ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 16, 2023
0
107
Madagascar is home to a unique biodiversity with a large number of endemic species, among those many lemur species, including the mouse lemurs. This diversity is also found in their retroviruses, a team led by scientists ...
Evolution
Jan 13, 2023
0
8
A new study from Lund University in Sweden indicates that inherited viruses that are millions of years old play an important role in building up the complex networks that characterise the human brain.
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 12, 2015
0
21
