The story of life’s beginnings gets stranger when you look closely at viruses. These tiny entities seem to sit at the edge of biology. They carry genetic material, but they cannot make proteins on ...

Around 8% of the human genome is made up of ancient viral sequences—endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) that integrated into our ancestors’ germline millions of years ago. Once thought to be inert genetic ...

The human genome is made up of 23 pairs of chromosomes, the biological blueprints that make humans … well, human. But it turns out that some of our DNA — about 8% — are the remnants of ancient viruses ...

BK polyomavirus, or BKPyV, is a major cause of kidney transplant failure. There are no effective drugs to treat BKPyV. Research reveals new aspects of BKPyV replication, offering possible drug targets ...

Single-cell analysis helps uncover how the BK virus replicates, opening the door to new drug targets. BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) is a major cause of kidney transplant failure. Without a complete ...

Embedded ancient viral DNA When our primate ancestors were infected with viruses, sequences of viral genetic information would replicate and insert themselves in various locations in the host’s ...