A significant portion of what we think of as our “human” DNA actually came from viruses, and a new discovery suggests that our DNA is even less human than scientists previously thought.
Nineteen new pieces of non-human DNA — left by viruses that first infected our ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago — have just been found lurking between our own genes.
And one stretch of newfound DNA, found in about 50 of the 2,500 people studied, contains an intact, full genetic recipe for an entire virus, said the scientists.
Whether or not it can replicate, or reproduce, is not yet known. But other studies of ancient virus DNA have shown it can affect the humans who carry it.
About eight per cent of what we think of as “human” DNA actually came from viruses, said the study published in the journal PNAS.
Nineteen new pieces of non-human DNA — left by viruses that first infected our ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago — have just been found lurking between our own genes.
And one stretch of newfound DNA, found in about 50 of the 2,500 people studied, contains an intact, full genetic recipe for an entire virus, said the scientists.
Whether or not it can replicate, or reproduce, is not yet known. But other studies of ancient virus DNA have shown it can affect the humans who carry it.
About eight per cent of what we think of as “human” DNA actually came from viruses, said the study published in the journal PNAS.