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1. •  
     CommentAuthorDanieru
   • CommentTimeNov 3rd 2006

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   In a controversial study, researchers have resurrected a retrovirus that infected our ancestors millions of years ago and now sits frozen in the human genome. Published online by Genome Research this week, the study may shed new light on the history of these genomic intruders, as well as their role in tumors. Although this particular virus, dubbed Phoenix, is a wimpy one, some argue that resuscitating any ancient virus is inherently risky and that the study should have undergone stricter reviews.
   
   Retroviruses have the ability to make DNA copies of their RNA genomes and incorporate these into the host's genome. If this happens in a germ cell, the copy can be passed on to future generations. Indeed, the human genome is littered with the remnants of such human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs). So far, researchers had been unable to recover a complete, functional HERV from a human genome however; part of the reason, they assumed, was that mutations accumulated over the millennia had rendered such viruses dysfunctional. - link to full article

   Although I know that viruses incorporate themselves into our genome I never fail to be amazed when I hear it. This 'littering' of our genetic heritage must surely contain some blinding surprises. Could it be possible that functions of our brain, perhaps even consciousness itself, were transmitted to us in the retroviral mutations of some ancient string of RNA? Can a viral infection have a positive effect on its host?
   
   I wish I was a biologist right about now.