Humans Are 8% Virus--How Ancient Viral DNA in Our Genome Plays a Role in Disease and Development

Remnants of ancient viral pandemics in the form of viral DNA sequences embedded in our genomes are still active in healthy people, according to new research my colleagues and I recently published. HERVs, or human endogenous retroviruses, make up around eight percent of the human genome, left behind as a result of infections that humanity's […]