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Humans are 8% virus – how the ancient viral DNA in your genome plays a role in human disease and development

The Conversation
Summary
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84% Informative

HERVs, or human endogenous retroviruses, make up around 8% of the human genome.

They were left behind as a result of infections that humanity’s primate ancestors suffered millions of years ago.

They became part of human genome due to how they replicate.

HERVs may have implications for how researchers screen for diseases today .

Seeing if any of these genes are actually made into proteins will also be important. Answering these questions could reveal previously unknown functions for these ancient viral genes and better help researchers understand how the human body reacts to evolution alongside these vestiges of ancient pandemics. This article is republished from The Conversation , a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Aidan Burn , Tufts University Read more: Aidan Burn receives funding from the National Cancer Institute ..

VR Score

85

Informative language

85

Neutral language

39

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

59

Offensive language

possibly offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

long-living

External references

35

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