More ancient viruses lurk in our DNA than we thought
Think your DNA is all human? Think again. And a new discovery suggests it's even less human than scientists previously thought.
Think your DNA is all human? Think again. And a new discovery suggests it's even less human than scientists previously thought.
Biotechnology
Mar 22, 2016
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In the ongoing arms race between pathogenic viruses and the cells they infect, each side needs every advantage it can get. One way wily viruses can get a leg up is by subverting the microRNAs (miRNAs) of their host. These ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 11, 2016
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Using a specially designed computational tool as a lure, scientists have netted the genomic sequences of almost 12,500 previously uncharacterized viruses from public databases.
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 14, 2015
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A hinge in the RNA genome of the virus that causes hepatitis C works like a switch that can be flipped to prevent it from replicating in infected cells. Scientists have discovered that this shape is shared by several other ...
Biochemistry
Oct 27, 2014
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(Phys.org) —Retroviruses go to a lot of trouble to replicate themselves in our cells and further their infectious cycle. The human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 18, 2014
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Scientists have for the first time sequenced an ancient RNA genome – of a barley virus once believed to be only 150 years old - pushing its origin back at least 2,000 years and revealing how intense farming at the time ...
Biotechnology
Feb 6, 2014
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A study of the full genetic code of a common human virus offers a dramatic confirmation of the "out-of-Africa" pattern of human migration, which had previously been documented by anthropologists and studies of the human genome.
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 21, 2013
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A new study by Anna Maria Niewiadomska and Robert Gifford, of The Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, New York, reveals that reticuloendotheliosis viruses (REVs), which originated in mammals, spread to birds as a result of ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 27, 2013
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The duck genome consortium, consisted of scientists from China Agricultural University, BGI, University of Edinburgh and other institutes has completed the genome sequencing and analysis of the duck (Anas platyrhynchos), ...
Biotechnology
Jun 9, 2013
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Much of the DNA that makes up our genomes can be traced back to strange rogue sequences known as transposable elements, or jumping genes, which are largely idle in mammals. But Johns Hopkins researchers report they have identified ...
Biotechnology
Jan 3, 2013
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