The koala retrovirus (KoRV) is a virus which, like other retroviruses such as HIV, inserts itself into the DNA of an infected cell. At some point in the past 50,000 years, KoRV has infected the egg or sperm cells of koalas, ...
Ecology
Feb 26, 2021
2
561
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
Devastated by summer's unprecedented firestorms, Australia's koalas are facing a potentially more serious and enduring existential threat from a fellow mammal—the bat.
Plants & Animals
Apr 14, 2020
0
249
On Thursday, January 9, The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) releases updated Feline Retrovirus Testing and Management Guidelines to the veterinary community, which will be published in the Journal of Feline ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 9, 2020
0
135
A virus that infects koalas is steadily integrating itself into their DNA, ensuring that it is passed down from generation to generation. But the koala genome is defending itself, revealing that DNA has its own immune system ...
Biotechnology
Oct 11, 2019
0
14
For the past few hundred years, the colorful hair and unique patterns of the so-called "Fancy Mouse" have made them the stars of pet shows in Japan and beyond. Now, scientists have finally revealed the true cause of the genetic ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 27, 2019
0
32
Retroviruses have colonised vertebrate hosts for millions of years by inserting their genes into host genomes, enabling their inheritance through generations as endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). Researchers from Uppsala University ...
Evolution
Oct 9, 2018
0
4
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
Over millions of years, retroviruses have been incorporated into human DNA, where they today make up almost 10 per cent of the total genome. A research group at Lund University in Sweden has now discovered a mechanism through ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 12, 2017
0
6
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
