100 Million-Year-Old Virus Discovered In The Blood Of Pregnant Women

Not trying to rustle any jimmies out there or anything, but the latest research revealed that several ancient viruses is actually embedded in our genome. Yes, it’s true, and considering our standard genetic blueprints containing various DNA fingerprints from all sorts of manner of creatures, it is actually not surprising at all.

But still, discovering viruses hiding inside our system all along? It’s pretty alarming. It’s not every day that we find out that a harmful element actually managed to successfully infiltrate our system and conceal itself from us for millions of years.

100 million years ago, a virus infected our ancestors and stayed within mankind’s DNA ever since.

According to the reports from the journal Trends in Microbiology, a virus entered the system of the early men and managed to embed its genetic code into their DNA. This virus managed to transfer for generations until it reached the modern day man.

The virus is now considered a human gene.

Studies revealed that the virus stayed within the human system and managed to survive the hazards of time and evolution. Considering that it is mostly expressed in embryos and cancers, the virus is frequently found in a pregnant woman’s blood as expected.

The virus is known as HERVs – Human Endegenous Retroviruses.

HERVs, among other ancient viruses, are said to be retroviruses. According to the studies, these viruses manage to infiltrate unsuspecting hosts through DNA through replicating the RNA. Regarding the virus, the authors of the journal that posted the report had a few questions in mind:

What do these efficient genomic colonizers do? Are they merely fossils that, like mosquitos in amber, were stuck and preserved in large host genomes while their functions decayed?

A group of researchers from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens are also puzzled by the discovery:

Researchers have been struggling to understand their roles for as long as we have known them, postulating junk, bystander, and pathogen hypotheses.

Another research team also found out that this virus seems to express more in the blood during pregnancy.

The virus is inactive most of the time. However, it takes on a slightly more active state whenever it is in contact with cancerous tissues like ovarian cancer.

It is pretty clear that this ancient virus they discovered is still shrouded in mystery. However, despite its inactive nature, considering its flimsy connection with the stem cells manipulation and several cancerous tissues, it’s a bit alarming don’t you think?

Let’s hope that our researchers manage to find the truth about this virus as soon as possible.