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The human genome is full of viruses

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Re: The human genome is full of viruses

#111

Post by kalium_xyz »

vikramkr wrote: post #73
kalium_xyz wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes it is, it depends on the virus causing it.

Do you have any examples of retroviruses that cause the common cold? I did a quick search but couldn't find anything, but that sounds like something that would be really interesting to read up on - the classical retrovirus isn't necessarily something that can go away after a couple days of sniffles and I'm curious to know if there are long term consequences to colds caused by retroviruses.

The search results are probably flooded, if you need good info look for anything from before the resent outbreak. Its on the wikipedia page for common cold, I think I got the factoid when I was searching google patents for coronavirus (might be interesting to check out as well) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#Viruses

Re: The human genome is full of viruses

#112

Post by vikramkr »

kalium_xyz wrote: post #111
vikramkr wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any examples of retroviruses that cause the common cold? I did a quick search but couldn't find anything, but that sounds like something that would be really interesting to read up on - the classical retrovirus isn't necessarily something that can go away after a couple days of sniffles and I'm curious to know if there are long term consequences to colds caused by retroviruses.

The search results are probably flooded, if you need good info look for anything from before the resent outbreak. Its on the wikipedia page for common cold, I think I got the factoid when I was searching google patents for coronavirus (might be interesting to check out as well) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#Viruses

I don't think coronavirus is an integrating retrovirus? It's an RNA virus for sure, but I haven't ever heard of it causing genome integration, and it would probably be a lot more dangerous (ability to cause cancer for instance) if it did?

Re: The human genome is full of viruses

#114

Post by orestarod »

thombat wrote: post #45
crazygringo wrote: post #44

> Even after recovering from an infection there will always be a piece of that virus encoded within your DNA. I did a little research and this appears to be almost completely false . This sentence makes it sound like every time you get a cold, your body's DNA is permanently altered. Which would be insane if true. The reality is that this insane outcome is incredibly rare, but nevertheless has happened enough times ov…

If it was true then presumably we'd see the DNA of identical twins diverging with age (proxy for number of infections). Do we?

The DNA of every single cell in your body can have spontaneous mutations. But what is important for what you become in general is the DNA of your first cell that is rapidly multiplied to form your body. And what is important for what you leave on the next generation, is the DNA of your reproducing cells, which can too be individually altered, of course.

Re: The human genome is full of viruses

#115

Post by abiogenesis »

tim333 wrote: post #4

There was an interesting article a while back on them playing a part in schizophrenia. "The Insanity Virus" https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/the-insanity-virus

Fascinating. It seems to be supporting a hypothesis I read a while ago (https://www.amazon.com/Next-Fifty-Years-Science-Twenty-first...) on pathogens being a possible cause for depression.

Re: The human genome is full of viruses

#116

Post by brokenmachine »

knome wrote: post #89
sudoaza wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh, can we remove those? isn't there a cost to have all those extra sequences lying around?

As I remember it, it was stated in "The Selfish Gene" that the vast bulk of genetic code served only a single purpose: ensuring it itself was replicated. It had no known function for the organism, it simply was copied from generation to generation. The primary "goal" of any self-replicator. Since it didn't actively interfere with the genes that do have an affect on the construction of the structures the genes build a…

Forgive my naive question, but if the host is not affected if that code is lost, then wouldn't you imagine that eventually all that code would be destroyed by random mutation? There's no selection.

Re: The human genome is full of viruses

#117

Post by knome »

brokenmachine wrote: post #116
knome wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I remember it, it was stated in "The Selfish Gene" that the vast bulk of genetic code served only a single purpose: ensuring it itself was replicated. It had no known function for the organism, it simply was copied from generation to generation. The primary "goal" of any self-replicator. Since it didn't actively interfere with the genes that do have an affect on the construction of the structures the genes build a…

Forgive my naive question, but if the host is not affected if that code is lost, then wouldn't you imagine that eventually all that code would be destroyed by random mutation? There's no selection.

The book really is a fantastic read. If you've any curiosity on the matter, I would suggest picking up a copy.

The premise is that it is not organisms, but genes themselves which are the primary target of evolution. All but the gene is mere trappings that surround their competitive replication. Those genes that manage to slide from generation to generation aren't doing nothing, they are those that are most successful at duplicating themselves into the next generation. If they do not hinder the organism in their duplication, there is no pressure for their removal.

Re: The human genome is full of viruses

#118

Post by sudoaza »

kibibyte wrote: post #94
Enginerrrd wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You ever see a cryptic line of code with a comment next to it saying something to the effect of: "No idea what this does, but everything breaks if we delete it"? It could be that old viral code has been repurposed long ago by evolution and serves a purpose.

I generally get annoyed at most analogies that compare DNA to code because they oversimplify a lot, but I really do like this particular DNA-code analogy. My university molecular genetics course taught me that DNA is very complicated. Many of us know of the simplified model where an RNA polymerase, encouraged by some transcription factors, locates and binds to a promoter sequence, unwinds the strands, and constructs…

I was worrying about this, specially your latest edit, when i mentioned cleaning up. We could limit to very new additions though just in case. I know that there's maybe no reason to think that this random additions are any worse than the random+selected pieces that were coding before, but just seems ugly somehow.
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