The Roswell Park team has developed a new method to measure mutation loads across species, revealing the role of the “dark genome” — ancient, virus-like genes that affect cellular function. The findings support further exploration of antiviral drugs as potential tools to target the dark genome in controlling cancer.
Tag: Retrotransposons
Ancient retroviruses played a key role in the evolution of vertebrate brains
Researchers report in the journal Cell that ancient viruses may be to thank for myelin—and, by extension, our large, complex brains.
Adaptive immunity to ancient retroelements controls the skin tissue threshold of activation
A symbiotic dialogue between the microbiota and host is essential to promote protective immune responses in the skin. Integrated retroviral elements, or retrotransposons (RTNs), comprise up to 45% of the human genome. We previously found that immune responses to the…
Adaptive immunity to ancient retroelements controls the skin tissue threshold of activation
A symbiotic dialogue between the microbiota and host is essential to promote protective immune responses in the skin. Integrated retroviral elements, or retrotransposons (RTNs), comprise up to 45% of the human genome. We previously found that immune responses to the…