Ancient viral fossils buried in our DNA are offering fresh clues about how today’s respiratory pathogens infect and spread.

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.

Most of them come from a subset of viruses called retroviruses, which infect host cells and then trick them into making the ...

Edward Chuong and Atma Ivancevic at the BioFrontiers Institute. (Credit: Glenn Asakawa/CU Boulder) Peek inside the human genome and, among the 20,000 or so genes that serve as building blocks of life, ...

Ancient viruses have really gotten on our nerves, but in the best of ways. One particular retrovirus — embedded in the DNA of jawed vertebrates — helps turn on production of a protein needed to ...

Around 8% of human DNA is made up of genetic sequences acquired from ancient viruses. These sequences, known as human endogenous retroviruses (or Hervs), date back hundreds of thousands to millions of ...

Explore the enduring challenges of treating HIV, its unique properties, and the progress made since the virus's discovery.

A new paper published online in Science on Thursday has failed to confirm a link between a mouse retrovirus called XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome. Along with the new study, the authors of the ...

At least 8% of the human genome is genetic material from viruses. It was considered ‘junk DNA’ until recently, but its role in human development is now known to be essential Researchers at the Spanish ...

Retroviruses are viruses that have evolved the ability to write their genetic code into a cell's own DNA. The most ancient ...