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
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135
(PhysOrg.com) -- The retroviruses which gave rise to HIV have been battling it out with mammal immune systems since mammals first evolved around 100 million years ago - about 85 million years earlier than previously thought, ...
Archaeology
Sep 18, 2009
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0
Peek inside the human genome and, among the 20,000 or so genes that serve as building blocks of life, you'll also find flecks of DNA left behind by viruses that infected primate ancestors tens of millions of years ago.
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 17, 2024
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15
A new study published in Science Advances reveals a surprising twist in the evolutionary history of complex life. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have discovered that a single-celled organism, a close relative ...
Evolution
Jul 16, 2024
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12
A research team has caught a glimpse of a rare case of retrovirus integration. Retroviruses are viruses that multiply by incorporating their genes into the genome of a host cell. If the infected cell is a germ cell, the retrovirus ...
Evolution
Feb 5, 2024
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17
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
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215
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, discovered a mechanism that controls the identity of stem cells. When this mechanism fails, embryonic stem cells revert back in time and become totipotent.
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 8, 2023
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22
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
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107
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
Historic virus infections can be traced in vertebrate genomes. For millions of years, these genomes have been repositories for retroviruses that incorporated their code into germline cells and were inherited as endogenous ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 13, 2022
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34
