July
29
/ 2024
An eye-opening new study from genetic scientists at the University of Colorado-Boulder has discovered something surprising and alarming about some mysterious foreign DNA found in the human genome. This DNA was introduced into the genomes of human ancestors tens of millions of years ago by ancient retroviruses, and has survived intact even into the modern age. In the past most of this genetic material was dismissed as “junk” DNA, meaning it was thought to stay inactive and not contribute to human development or metabolism in any way. But in a new article just published in Science Advances, the UC Boulder scientists demonstrate that at least some of this DNA plays a vital role in the growth and proliferation of cancer
