Comments on: Part Human, Part Virus http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/ A blog about life, past and future. Written by DISCOVER contributing editor and columnist Carl Zimmer. Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:14:18 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Jx http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7827 Jx Thu, 01 Dec 2005 23:04:57 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7827 Great article. I have heard this chimera theory before. For all the ID activists; maybe this article will change your mind. Great article. I have heard this chimera theory before. For all the ID activists; maybe this article will change your mind.

]]> By: Torbjorn Larsson http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7826 Torbjorn Larsson Mon, 10 Oct 2005 22:06:02 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7826 Nitpick: It is Uppsala (up-saa-la) University. Phillip: A simple experiment would show that the tracks are not antsy but stillborn. Posterior creationist theories has no scientific value; they must be ant-erior to facts. Nitpick: It is Uppsala (up-saa-la) University.

Phillip: A simple experiment would show that the tracks are not antsy but stillborn. Posterior creationist theories has no scientific value; they must be ant-erior to facts.

]]> By: Robin http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7825 Robin Sat, 01 Oct 2005 05:39:00 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7825 I realize this argument has petered out, but I just can't resist pointing out that I'm descended from my Grandmother, and yet, I don't expect I'll be giving birth to her any time soon. :) I realize this argument has petered out, but I just can’t resist pointing out that I’m descended from my Grandmother, and yet, I don’t expect I’ll be giving birth to her any time soon.
:)

]]> By: Timothy Chase http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7824 Timothy Chase Mon, 19 Sep 2005 14:44:28 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7824 My compliments to Carl Zimmer. While of course I was well-aware of the origins of mitochondria and chloroplasts, I did not know that a single-stranded DNA bacteriophage was involved. Reminds me of the single-celled eukaryote employed in termite digestion, which itself plays host to bacteria which are responsible for its mobility (the bacteria row together in synchronicity). In any case, I have brought up both mitochondria and chloroplasts with a number of my friends, and this will give one more interesting detail to the story I tell. Additionally, I really enjoy your writing. Beyond all of the details (and there are plenty of them), there is something about the style which is really smooth -- the reader doesn't in any sense get the feeling that he is being talked down to (which seems somewhat common in much of science writing), and it has more of the feel of listening to a friend. I find that impressive. Judging from the stories you have written, your book will be very enlightening, but judging from how they are written, it should be a most enjoyable read. (Still might like to see a story on retroviruses, though -- there is a great deal of potential material in that topic.) My compliments to Carl Zimmer.

While of course I was well-aware of the origins of mitochondria and chloroplasts, I did not know that a single-stranded DNA bacteriophage was involved. Reminds me of the single-celled eukaryote employed in termite digestion, which itself plays host to bacteria which are responsible for its mobility (the bacteria row together in synchronicity). In any case, I have brought up both mitochondria and chloroplasts with a number of my friends, and this will give one more interesting detail to the story I tell.

Additionally, I really enjoy your writing. Beyond all of the details (and there are plenty of them), there is something about the style which is really smooth — the reader doesn’t in any sense get the feeling that he is being talked down to (which seems somewhat common in much of science writing), and it has more of the feel of listening to a friend. I find that impressive. Judging from the stories you have written, your book will be very enlightening, but judging from how they are written, it should be a most enjoyable read.

(Still might like to see a story on retroviruses, though — there is a great deal of potential material in that topic.)

]]> By: Philip Heywood http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7823 Philip Heywood Mon, 19 Sep 2005 13:03:13 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7823 I think I'm going to look into that palaeoanthropological publication. Ah, here we go. "Modern Sci-Ants". Illuminating. There was this ant, going along the track, and he fell into a sort of a cross-ditch. Then he got out, and then he fell into another one! This kept happenning. A-bye-and-bye, he observed a regularity and a similarity in these trenches. He furthermore observed that although they were in many ways similar - he fell into all of them with a sort of a crash - they were all a little different. A-bye-and-bye, he observed that they differed according to the environment in which they occurred. Some were steeper-sided than others, depending on soil-type, and some were rougher to fall into than others. Bye-and-bye he advanced a theory about these very obvious, similar, yet differing, features of his world. Having observed that the ones he first fell into were a little shallower than many of those he subsequently encountered (the ground was harder back there)he formulated a theory that they were in some way ancestral to those that followed. This ingenious ant postulated some sort of harmonic effect,involving the aethereal aether, coupled with the effect of various debris randomly striking the ground. It actually went some of the way towards providing a theoretical engine to drive this observed progression in well-formed trenches. In time, our hero formulated his ideas into a comprehensive thesis, which said thesis became commonly read and discussed at many learned gatherings. It gained popularity, although some ants were antagonistic. (Sorry!) The 'dozer driver reversed, and squashed the poor guy. So how do I know this happened? I was told it by this ant's aunt. She is eloquant. Or was it the aunt's ant? The ant's aunt undoubtedly elucidated elegantly the extinct ant's anthropology. Or was it that the aunt's ant's absentminded excursion led to the extinct ant's undoing? Ah, now I remember. The absentminded ant's aunt undoubtedly advized me with admirable elocution. That sci-antist sure thought he had all the antswers! But did he have a full grasp of palaeoANThropology (sorry, again)! Hey, this gets better. The next issue is headed, "Was Darwin Jack the Ripper?" Dashed interesting. Yes, certainly they should dig up Westminster Abbey to find if it's really him buried there! It's quite obvious his death was faked, and he went on stangling pigeons and feverishly dissecting specimens in an uncontrolled way in the dead of night, long after this transparent fake of a funeral. OOH, it's creepy! Aaaah! I must go. Palaeoanthropology is so exciting. It's wild, all right. I think I’m going to look into that palaeoanthropological publication.

Ah, here we go. “Modern Sci-Ants”. Illuminating.

There was this ant, going along the track, and he fell into a sort of a cross-ditch. Then he got out, and then he fell into another one! This kept happenning. A-bye-and-bye, he observed a regularity and a similarity in these trenches. He furthermore observed that although they were in many ways similar – he fell into all of them with a sort of a crash – they were all a little different. A-bye-and-bye, he observed that they differed according to the environment in which they occurred. Some were steeper-sided than others, depending on soil-type, and some were rougher to fall into than others. Bye-and-bye he advanced a theory about these very obvious, similar, yet differing, features of his world. Having observed that the ones he first fell into were a little shallower than many of those he subsequently encountered (the ground was harder back there)he formulated a theory that they were in some way ancestral to those that followed. This ingenious ant postulated some sort of harmonic effect,involving the aethereal aether, coupled with the effect of various debris randomly striking the ground. It actually went some of the way towards providing a theoretical engine to drive this observed progression in well-formed trenches. In time, our hero formulated his ideas into a comprehensive thesis, which said thesis became commonly read and discussed at many learned gatherings. It gained popularity, although some ants were antagonistic. (Sorry!)

The ‘dozer driver reversed, and squashed the poor guy.

So how do I know this happened?
I was told it by this ant’s aunt. She is eloquant. Or was it the aunt’s ant? The ant’s aunt undoubtedly elucidated elegantly the extinct ant’s anthropology. Or was it that the aunt’s ant’s absentminded excursion led to the extinct ant’s undoing? Ah, now I remember. The absentminded ant’s aunt undoubtedly advized me with admirable elocution.
That sci-antist sure thought he had all the antswers!
But did he have a full grasp of palaeoANThropology (sorry, again)!

Hey, this gets better. The next issue is headed, “Was Darwin Jack the Ripper?” Dashed interesting. Yes, certainly they should dig up Westminster Abbey to find if it’s really him buried there! It’s quite obvious his death was faked, and he went on stangling pigeons and feverishly dissecting specimens in an uncontrolled way in the dead of night, long after this transparent fake of a funeral. OOH, it’s creepy! Aaaah! I must go. Palaeoanthropology is so exciting. It’s wild, all right.

]]> By: Timothy Chase http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7822 Timothy Chase Sun, 18 Sep 2005 21:08:49 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7822 No doubt some things were "Lost in Translation." In any case, it should be possible to respect one another's religious beliefs, yet preserve the separation between religion and science which makes scientific progress possible. For one possible view, people might be interested in the article which formed the basis for a discussion at: "Religion and Science" <a href="http://www.evcforum.net/cgi-bin/dm.cgi?action=msg&f=32&t=4&m=1" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.evcforum.net/cgi-bin/dm.cgi?action=msg&f=32&t=4&m=1" rel="nofollow">http://www.evcforum.net/cgi-bin/dm.cgi?action=msg&f=32&t=4&m=1</a></a> No doubt some things were “Lost in Translation.”

In any case, it should be possible to respect one another’s religious beliefs, yet preserve the separation between religion and science which makes scientific progress possible.

For one possible view, people might be interested in the article which formed the basis for a discussion at:

“Religion and Science”
http://www.evcforum.net/cgi-bin/dm.cgi?action=msg&f=32&t=4&m=1

]]> By: Timothy Chase http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7821 Timothy Chase Sun, 18 Sep 2005 20:44:48 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7821 Just wanted to translate what Joao Carmo wrote: Truly I am fascinated by its book "Evolution, the triumph of an idea", that I finished to read. Congratulations! I age an atheist "politician", now can say that I am "a scientific" atheist. I go to read more and to spread its ideas between the young in my city and region. Compliments! -- My own response: I demasiado, am fascinado pela evolução. Entretanto, eu acredito que o relacionamento entre a teoria evolucionária e a religião é complicado. Para o exemplo, muita daqueles que são tomada religiosa um a leitura mais allegorical do genesis, em que se compreende não como um treatise científico, mas como falando diretamente à alma no formulário da poesia sobre as verdades fundamentais a respeito do relacionamento entre o deus e homem. Este não é algo que você naturalmente tem que em toda a maneira aceitar. Mas o que é importante é que, não obstante que diferenças exista entre opiniões religiosas do pessoa, aquelas vistas religiosas podem ser reservadas ao incorporar o esforço cooperativo sabido como a ciência empírica, onde a evidência (melhor que a fé religiosa) são o que importa verdadeiramente! Os mais melhores desejos, meu amigo! -- And the original english: I too, am fascinated by evolution. However, I believe the relationship between evolutionary theory and religion is a complicated one. For example, many of those who are religious take a more allegorical reading of Genesis, in which it is understood not as a scientific treatise, but as speaking directly to the soul in the form of poetry about fundamental truths regarding the relationship between God and man. This is not something which you of course have to in any way accept. But what is important is that, regardless of what differences exist between people's religious views, those religious views may be set aside when entering the cooperative endeavor known as empirical science, where evidence (rather than religious faith) is what truly matters! Best wishes, my friend! Just wanted to translate what Joao Carmo wrote:

Truly I am fascinated by its book “Evolution, the triumph of an idea”, that I finished to read. Congratulations! I age an atheist “politician”, now can say that I am “a scientific” atheist. I go to read more and to spread its ideas between the young in my city and region.

Compliments!

–

My own response:

I demasiado, am fascinado pela evolução. Entretanto, eu acredito que o relacionamento entre a teoria evolucionária e a religião é complicado. Para o exemplo, muita daqueles que são tomada religiosa um a leitura mais allegorical do genesis, em que se compreende não como um treatise científico, mas como falando diretamente à alma no formulário da poesia sobre as verdades fundamentais a respeito do relacionamento entre o deus e homem. Este não é algo que você naturalmente tem que em toda a maneira aceitar. Mas o que é importante é que, não obstante que diferenças exista entre opiniões religiosas do pessoa, aquelas vistas religiosas podem ser reservadas ao incorporar o esforço cooperativo sabido como a ciência empírica, onde a evidência (melhor que a fé religiosa) são o que importa verdadeiramente!

Os mais melhores desejos, meu amigo!

–

And the original english:

I too, am fascinated by evolution. However, I believe the relationship between evolutionary theory and religion is a complicated one. For example, many of those who are religious take a more allegorical reading of Genesis, in which it is understood not as a scientific treatise, but as speaking directly to the soul in the form of poetry about fundamental truths regarding the relationship between God and man. This is not something which you of course have to in any way accept. But what is important is that, regardless of what differences exist between people’s religious views, those religious views may be set aside when entering the cooperative endeavor known as empirical science, where evidence (rather than religious faith) is what truly matters!

Best wishes, my friend!

]]> By: João Carmo http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7820 João Carmo Sun, 18 Sep 2005 17:20:25 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7820 Estou verdadeiramente fascinado pelo seu livro "Evolução, o triunfo de uma idéia", que acabei de ler. Parabéns! Eu era um ateu "político", agora posso dizer que sou um ateu "científico". Vou ler mais e disseminar suas idéias entre os jovens em minha cidade e região. Cumprimentos! João Carmo joaocarmo@terra.com.br Estou verdadeiramente fascinado pelo seu livro “Evolução, o triunfo de uma idéia”, que acabei de ler.
Parabéns! Eu era um ateu “político”, agora posso dizer que sou um ateu “científico”. Vou ler mais e disseminar suas idéias entre os jovens em minha cidade e região.

Cumprimentos!

João Carmo
joaocarmo@terra.com.br

]]> By: Philip Heywood http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7819 Philip Heywood Sun, 18 Sep 2005 07:31:29 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7819 Thankyou, Mr. Chase. I will check some of those references, although I don't know whether they will or will not assist a layman such as myself in seeing how humans can be descended from monkeys yet not be giving birth to monkeys. When people were building an earth - centered solar system they relied on various celestial bodies to turn in secondary circles whenever and wherever necessary. The solar system would never quite solve, so more and more of these epicycles were added, and as demand for a rational system increased, so did the obfuscating epi's. Eventually, the system began to disappear under the weight of them. One gets the feeling that's about where biology is, now. But I'll try to follow some of the references. P.H.. Thankyou, Mr. Chase. I will check some of those references, although I don’t know whether they will or will not assist a layman such as myself in seeing how humans can be descended from monkeys yet not be giving birth to monkeys. When people were building an earth – centered solar system they relied on various celestial bodies to turn in secondary circles whenever and wherever necessary. The solar system would never quite solve, so more and more of these epicycles were added, and as demand for a rational system increased, so did the obfuscating epi’s. Eventually, the system began to disappear under the weight of them. One gets the feeling that’s about where biology is, now. But I’ll try to follow some of the references. P.H..

]]> By: Gerard Michael Burns http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7818 Gerard Michael Burns Sun, 18 Sep 2005 03:55:58 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7818 Thanks! Just a couple weeks ago I had been trying to explain these ideas to a friend of mine. Now I'll have a cogent and extremely easy to follow explanation in writing I can pass on to him (with accreditation, of course). I'm also going to post the link to this story to a paleoanthropological newsgroup to which I belong. No one really ever takes into account exactly how wild evolution can be. Michael Burns Thanks! Just a couple weeks ago I had been trying to explain these ideas to a friend of mine. Now I’ll have a cogent and extremely easy to follow explanation in writing I can pass on to him (with accreditation, of course).
I’m also going to post the link to this story to a paleoanthropological newsgroup to which I belong. No one really ever takes into account exactly how wild evolution can be.

Michael Burns

]]> By: Timothy Chase http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7817 Timothy Chase Sat, 17 Sep 2005 19:45:32 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7817 Philip Bruce Heywood wrote: <blockquote> If you wish your writings to become something other than a quaint whimsey, in the eyes of future readers, either admit we don't yet see how this information outcome came about (i.e., admit the mechanisms of evolution are currently little understood) or start looking for the mechanisms. Information outcomes demand information technology. Nothing written above, and nothing in Neo-Darwinism, goes within a light-year of accounting for the information processes that by definition were involved. Biology needs to come to an understanding of technologies such as Quantum Physics, Nanotechnology, Advanced Computation, and so on. Darwin lived in the 19th Century. Regards, P.H.. </blockquote> Ah... yes..., you have to understand everything before you can understand anything. Omniscience is the only guarantee of knowledge. Empirical science doesn't work that way, friend. And Intelligent Design "theorist" William Dembski's so-called approach to information theory has been thoroughly debunked. But here are some articles at varying levels which those who are actually interested in science might enjoy: Human endogenous retroviruses in health and disease: a symbiotic perspective Frank P. Ryan J R Soc Med 2004; 97:560-565 December 2004 <a href="http://www.rsm.ac.uk/new/pdfs/j_art_dec04.pdf" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.rsm.ac.uk/new/pdfs/j_art_dec04.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.rsm.ac.uk/new/pdfs/j_art_dec04.pdf</a></a> The role of retroviruses in human life and disease <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=17320" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=17320" rel="nofollow">http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=17320</a></a> Human endogenous retroviruses: transposable elements with potential? P.N. Nelson, P. Hooley, D. Roden, H Davari Ejtehadi, P. Rylance, P. Warren, J. Martin & P.G. Murray Clin Exp Immunol 2004; 138:1-9 Beneficial Role of Human Endogenous Retroviruses: Facts and Hypotheses E. Larson & G. Andersson Scan. J. Immunol. 48 pp. 329-338 Accepted 15 Jun 1998 The human endogenous retrovirus K Rev response element coincides with a predicted RNA folding region Jin Yang, Hal Bogerd, Shu-Yun Le, and Bryan R. Cullen RNA (2000), 6: p. 1551-1564 www.rnajournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/6/11/1551 Periodic Explosive Expansion of Human retroelements Associated with the Evolution of the Hominoid Primate Tae-Min Kim, Seung-Jin Hong, Mun-Gan Rhyu J Korean Med Sci 2004; 19: 177-85 <a href="http://jkms.kams.or.kr/2004/pdf/04177.pdf" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://jkms.kams.or.kr/2004/pdf/04177.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://jkms.kams.or.kr/2004/pdf/04177.pdf</a></a> 'Punctuated' evolution in the human genome <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=26283" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=26283" rel="nofollow">http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=26283</a></a> "Five retroelement families, L1 and L2 (long interspersed nuclear element, LINE), Alu and MIR (short interspersed nuclear element, SINE), and LTR (long terminal repeat), comprise almost half of the human genome...." Constructing primate phylogenies from ancient retrovirus sequences Welkin E. Johnson and John M. Coffin Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. Vol. 96, pp. 10254-10260, August 1999 <a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/18/10254" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/18/10254" rel="nofollow">http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/18/10254</a></a> Phylogenetic relationships among cetartiodactyls based on insertions of short and long interersed elements: Hippopotamuses are the closest extant relatives of whales Masato Nikaido, Alejandro P. Rooney, and Norihiro Okada Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. Vol. 96 pp. 10261-10266, August 1999 <a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/18/10261" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/18/10261" rel="nofollow">http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/18/10261</a></a> An ancient family of human endogenous retroviruses encodes a functional homolog of the HIV-1 Rev protein Jin Yang, Hal P. Bogerd, Sheila Peng, Heather Wiegand, Ray Truant, and Bryan R. Cullen Howard Hughes Medial Institute and Department of Genetics Approved September 28, 1999 <a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/23/13404" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/23/13404" rel="nofollow">http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/23/13404</a></a> Identification of endogenous retroviral reading frames in the human genome Palle Villesen, Lars Aagaard, Carsten Wiuf and Finn Skou Pedersen Retrovirology 2004, 1:32 October 2004 <a href="http://www.retrovirology.com/content/1/1/32/abstract" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.retrovirology.com/content/1/1/32/abstract" rel="nofollow">http://www.retrovirology.com/content/1/1/32/abstract</a></a> The Solitary Long Terminal Repeats of ERV-9 Endogenous Retrovirus Are Conserved during Primate Evolution and Possess Enhancer Activities in Embryonic and Hematopoietic Cells Jianhua Ling, Wenhu Pi, Roni Bollag, Shan Zeng, Meral Keskintepe, Hatem Saliman, Sanford Krantz, Barry Whitney, and Dorothy Tuan Journal of Virology,p. 2410-2423, Mar. 2002 <a href="http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/full/76/5/2410" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/full/76/5/2410" rel="nofollow">http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/full/76/5/2410</a></a> (Infers the family tree (phylogenetic relationships) for human, chimpanzee, gorilla, orangatan, gibbon, old world monkeys, new world monkeys from ERV-9 subfamily divergences) Insertional polymorphisms of full-length endogenous retroviruses in humans Geoffrey Turner, Madalina Barbulesu, Mei Su, Michael I. Jensen-Seaman Current Biology 2001, 11:1531-1535 2 October 2001 <a href="http://info.med.yale.edu/genetics/kkidd/403.pdf" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://info.med.yale.edu/genetics/kkidd/403.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://info.med.yale.edu/genetics/kkidd/403.pdf</a></a> HERV-K113 may still be capable of infection Evolution of Retroviruses: Fossils in our DNA John M. Coffin Proceedings of The American Philosophical Society Vol. 148, No.3, pp. 264-280 September 2004 <a href="http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1483/480302.pdf" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1483/480302.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1483/480302.pdf</a></a> Expressions and Functions of Human Endogenous Retroviruses in the Placenta: An Update A. Muir, A. Lever and A. Moffet Placenta (2004), 25, Supplement A, Trophoblast Research, Vol. 18 S16-S25 Accepted 5 January 2004 Can Viruses Make Us Human? Luis P. Villarreal Proceedings of the American Philosophical Scoiety Vol. 148, No. 3, September 2004, pp. 296-323 <a href="http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1483/480304.pdf" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1483/480304.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1483/480304.pdf</a></a> The viruses in all of us: Characteristics and biological significance of human endogenous retrovirus sequences Roswitha Lower, Johannes Lower, and Reinhad Kurth Poc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA Vol. 93, pp. 5177-5184 May 1996 <a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/11/5177" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/11/5177" rel="nofollow">http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/11/5177</a></a> Philip Bruce Heywood wrote:

If you wish your writings to become something other than a quaint whimsey, in the eyes of future readers, either admit we don’t yet see how this information outcome came about (i.e., admit the mechanisms of evolution are currently little understood) or start looking for the mechanisms. Information outcomes demand information technology. Nothing written above, and nothing in Neo-Darwinism, goes within a light-year of accounting for the information processes that by definition were involved. Biology needs to come to an understanding of technologies such as Quantum Physics, Nanotechnology, Advanced Computation, and so on. Darwin lived in the 19th Century. Regards, P.H..

Ah… yes…, you have to understand everything before you can understand anything. Omniscience is the only guarantee of knowledge.

Empirical science doesn’t work that way, friend. And Intelligent Design “theorist” William Dembski’s so-called approach to information theory has been thoroughly debunked.

But here are some articles at varying levels which those who are actually interested in science might enjoy:

Human endogenous retroviruses in health and disease: a symbiotic perspective
Frank P. Ryan
J R Soc Med 2004; 97:560-565
December 2004
http://www.rsm.ac.uk/new/pdfs/j_art_dec04.pdf

The role of retroviruses in human life and disease
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=17320

Human endogenous retroviruses: transposable elements with potential?
P.N. Nelson, P. Hooley, D. Roden, H Davari Ejtehadi, P. Rylance, P.
Warren, J. Martin & P.G. Murray
Clin Exp Immunol 2004; 138:1-9

Beneficial Role of Human Endogenous Retroviruses: Facts and Hypotheses
E. Larson & G. Andersson
Scan. J. Immunol. 48 pp. 329-338
Accepted 15 Jun 1998

The human endogenous retrovirus K Rev response element coincides with
a predicted RNA folding region
Jin Yang, Hal Bogerd, Shu-Yun Le, and Bryan R. Cullen
RNA (2000), 6: p. 1551-1564
http://www.rnajournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/6/11/1551

Periodic Explosive Expansion of Human retroelements Associated with
the Evolution of the Hominoid Primate
Tae-Min Kim, Seung-Jin Hong, Mun-Gan Rhyu
J Korean Med Sci 2004; 19: 177-85
http://jkms.kams.or.kr/2004/pdf/04177.pdf

‘Punctuated’ evolution in the human genome
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=26283

“Five retroelement families, L1 and L2 (long interspersed nuclear
element, LINE), Alu and MIR (short interspersed nuclear element,
SINE), and LTR (long terminal repeat), comprise almost half of the
human genome….”

Constructing primate phylogenies from ancient retrovirus sequences
Welkin E. Johnson and John M. Coffin
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
Vol. 96, pp. 10254-10260, August 1999
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/18/10254

Phylogenetic relationships among cetartiodactyls based on insertions
of short and long interersed elements: Hippopotamuses are the closest
extant relatives of whales
Masato Nikaido, Alejandro P. Rooney, and Norihiro Okada
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
Vol. 96 pp. 10261-10266, August 1999
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/18/10261

An ancient family of human endogenous retroviruses encodes a
functional homolog of the HIV-1 Rev protein
Jin Yang, Hal P. Bogerd, Sheila Peng, Heather Wiegand, Ray Truant, and
Bryan R. Cullen
Howard Hughes Medial Institute and Department of Genetics
Approved September 28, 1999
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/23/13404

Identification of endogenous retroviral reading frames in the human genome
Palle Villesen, Lars Aagaard, Carsten Wiuf and Finn Skou Pedersen
Retrovirology 2004, 1:32
October 2004
http://www.retrovirology.com/content/1/1/32/abstract

The Solitary Long Terminal Repeats of ERV-9 Endogenous Retrovirus Are
Conserved during Primate Evolution and Possess Enhancer Activities in
Embryonic and Hematopoietic Cells
Jianhua Ling, Wenhu Pi, Roni Bollag, Shan Zeng, Meral Keskintepe,
Hatem Saliman, Sanford Krantz, Barry Whitney, and Dorothy Tuan
Journal of Virology,p. 2410-2423, Mar. 2002
http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/full/76/5/2410

(Infers the family tree (phylogenetic relationships) for human,
chimpanzee, gorilla, orangatan, gibbon, old world monkeys, new world
monkeys from ERV-9 subfamily divergences)

Insertional polymorphisms of full-length endogenous retroviruses in humans
Geoffrey Turner, Madalina Barbulesu, Mei Su, Michael I. Jensen-Seaman
Current Biology 2001, 11:1531-1535
2 October 2001
http://info.med.yale.edu/genetics/kkidd/403.pdf

HERV-K113 may still be capable of infection

Evolution of Retroviruses: Fossils in our DNA
John M. Coffin
Proceedings of The American Philosophical Society Vol. 148, No.3, pp. 264-280
September 2004
http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1483/480302.pdf

Expressions and Functions of Human Endogenous Retroviruses in the
Placenta: An Update
A. Muir, A. Lever and A. Moffet
Placenta (2004), 25, Supplement A, Trophoblast Research, Vol. 18 S16-S25
Accepted 5 January 2004

Can Viruses Make Us Human?
Luis P. Villarreal
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Scoiety Vol. 148, No. 3,
September 2004, pp. 296-323
http://www.aps-pub.com/proceedings/1483/480304.pdf

The viruses in all of us: Characteristics and biological significance
of human endogenous retrovirus sequences
Roswitha Lower, Johannes Lower, and Reinhad Kurth
Poc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA Vol. 93, pp. 5177-5184
May 1996
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/11/5177

]]> By: Danniel Soares http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/comment-page-1/#comment-7816 Danniel Soares Sat, 17 Sep 2005 14:37:01 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2005/09/15/part-human-part-virus/#comment-7816 Great article. Great article.

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