Viral remnants help regulate human immunity

[Plazma Inferno!]

Remnants of retroviruses that entered the human genome millions of years ago can regulate some innate immune responses. These viral sequences have previously been linked to controlling early mammalian development and formation of the placenta, among other things. A study published in Science establishes that one such endogenous retrovirus in human cells can also regulate the interferon response, which helps organisms quickly respond to infections. The work is one of the first reports to show that human cells could have adopted retroviral sequences to regulate their genes.

http://www.the-scientist.com/?artic.../Viral-Remnants-Help-Regulate-Human-Immunity/

So, we absorbed retrovirus' DNA and that made us stronger. Amazing.

 

[Edont Knoff]

Interesting indeed. Particularly this:

controlling early mammalian development and formation of the placenta

Reproduction is essential for a successful species. I'm really surprised that foreign DNA snippets can have an influence there, and even a positive one. For some reason, these snippets must have been better than what the species had developed on their own.

 

[Walter L. Wagner]

Remnants of retroviruses that entered the human genome millions of years ago can regulate some innate immune responses. These viral sequences have previously been linked to controlling early mammalian development and formation of the placenta, among other things. A study published in Science establishes that one such endogenous retrovirus in human cells can also regulate the interferon response, which helps organisms quickly respond to infections. The work is one of the first reports to show that human cells could have adopted retroviral sequences to regulate their genes.

http://www.the-scientist.com/?artic.../Viral-Remnants-Help-Regulate-Human-Immunity/

So, we absorbed retrovirus' DNA and that made us stronger. Amazing.

Once again, we've had threads on this.

Here is the Wikipedia article on it generally: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endogenous_retrovirus

Here is another article: https://www.quora.com/What-kind-of-viruses-are-integrated-in-the-human-genome

and here: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/02/14/mammals-made-by-viruses/#.Vt3GjONy200

and here about the article itself: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scien...ly-help-us-fight-infections-180958276/?no-ist