Prehistoric viruses smuggled genes into our DNA...

[Fred Bloggs]

About 8% of our DNA comes from viruses that infected our distant ancestors. Some of this DNA codes for proteins that affect our biology today.

\"A subset of viruses known as retroviruses are especially well equipped to sneak their genes into a host’s DNA. These viruses reproduce by tricking host cells to produce all the proteins that the virus needs to make copies of itself. To hijack host cells, the viruses use enzymes called reverse transcriptases to convert their RNA genes into DNA. After this conversion, retroviruses deploy enzymes called integrases, which make strategic incisions at locations along an organism’s chromosomes where the viral DNA can embed itself.\"

SARS-CoV-2 is a retrovirus, and it does infect germ cells.

So we\'ll be looking at more disease that \"runs in the family\"- probably neurological disorders.

https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/biochemistry/Prehistoric-viruses-smuggled-genes-DNA/100/i15#

 

[Fred Bloggs]

On Monday, September 5, 2022 at 9:19:33 PM UTC-4, bill....@ieee.org wrote:

On Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at 10:16:43 AM UTC+10, Fred Bloggs wrote:
About 8% of our DNA comes from viruses that infected our distant ancestors. Some of this DNA codes for proteins that affect our biology today.

\"A subset of viruses known as retroviruses are especially well equipped to sneak their genes into a host’s DNA. These viruses reproduce by tricking host cells to produce all the proteins that the virus needs to make copies of itself. To hijack host cells, the viruses use enzymes called reverse transcriptases to convert their RNA genes into DNA. After this conversion, retroviruses deploy enzymes called integrases, which make strategic incisions at locations along an organism’s chromosomes where the viral DNA can embed itself.\"

SARS-CoV-2 is a retrovirus, and it does infect germ cells.

So we\'ll be looking at more disease that \"runs in the family\"- probably neurological disorders.

https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/biochemistry/Prehistoric-viruses-smuggled-genes-DNA/100/i15#
Probably not. That 8% comes fro viruses that started infecting our very distant ancestor back before there were any multicellular organisms. It doesn\'t happen often, and most of that 8% is going to have come from a time before our ancestor single cells had evolved defenses to make it much less likely to happen.

This is a a level alarmism. Mere click-bait.

Uhmmmm:
Reverse-transcribed SARS-CoV-2 RNA can integrate into the genome of cultured human cells and can be expressed in patient-derived tissues
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2105968118
Authors are no amateurs.

--
Bill Sloman Sydney

 

[Anthony William Sloman]

On Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at 10:16:43 AM UTC+10, Fred Bloggs wrote:

About 8% of our DNA comes from viruses that infected our distant ancestors. Some of this DNA codes for proteins that affect our biology today.

\"A subset of viruses known as retroviruses are especially well equipped to sneak their genes into a host’s DNA. These viruses reproduce by tricking host cells to produce all the proteins that the virus needs to make copies of itself. To hijack host cells, the viruses use enzymes called reverse transcriptases to convert their RNA genes into DNA. After this conversion, retroviruses deploy enzymes called integrases, which make strategic incisions at locations along an organism’s chromosomes where the viral DNA can embed itself.\"

SARS-CoV-2 is a retrovirus, and it does infect germ cells.

So we\'ll be looking at more disease that \"runs in the family\"- probably neurological disorders.

https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/biochemistry/Prehistoric-viruses-smuggled-genes-DNA/100/i15#

Probably not. That 8% comes fro viruses that started infecting our very distant ancestor back before there were any multicellular organisms. It doesn\'t happen often, and most of that 8% is going to have come from a time before our ancestor single cells had evolved defenses to make it much less likely to happen.

This is a a level alarmism. Mere click-bait.

--
Bill Sloman Sydney