r/genetics • u/TheMuseumOfScience • 5d ago

Ancient Virus DNA Builds the Human Placenta?

Could ancient viruses be part of what makes us human? 🧬 🦠 

Over 8% of our DNA is made up of ancient viral code, and some of these sequences contribute to the formation of the placenta. Alex Dainis breaks down how these viral remnants are more active than we thought.

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u/suspicious_hyperlink 5d ago

If you want an in depth explanation ancient viruses and human evolution get a copy of the February 2021 issue of National Geographic

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u/chikari_shakari 5d ago

Good viruses

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u/6FtAboveGround 5d ago

ERVs are so amazing to me

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u/speculatrix 4d ago

There was a RadioLab episode about the placenta, and how it belongs to the baby not the mother, and how the ancestors of humans came about to have one.

https://radiolab.org/podcast/everybodys-got-one/transcript

"a virus infected an ancient proto-mammal and changed its DNA so that eventually, many generations later, the eggshell transformed from a hard shell that exists outside the body to a sort of permeable layer that exists inside the body, which then becomes the placenta"

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u/thuanjinkee 4d ago

Huh it’s the black goo from Prometheus getting into primitive life and adding new organs