Did you know that parts of our very own DNA might have come from ancient viruses? It sounds like something out of science fiction, but a fascinating new study suggests that these viral remnants, embedded deep within our genome, could have played a surprisingly important role in how humans developed.
Think about it: for millions of years, our ancestors encountered viruses. Some of these viruses, through a process called endogenization, managed to insert their genetic material into the host’s DNA. Over vast stretches of time, these viral sequences became a permanent part of our genome – the human genome.
Until recently, we often thought of these ancient viral sequences, known as endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), as little more than genetic