Ancient Virus Could Play A Role In Motor Neuron Disease

Health and Medicine





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Looking for viral genes in the brain. Courtesy of Nath lab, NINDS.

Way back in time, ancient viruses are believed to have infected the reproductive cells of our ancestors, leaving behind fossils of their genomes that we still see in our DNA today. In fact, as much as 8% of our DNA is made up of the remnants of these infections, known as endogenous retroviruses. Usually they lie dormant, but they can be awoken, reigniting the production of viral elements.