What a great read! I find it so crazy that after decades of thinking that there's all this "junk DNA" in us, it turns out that it may serve a purpose after all, even if that purpose is malicious.

I don't know if junk DNA was ever universally considered to be "junk" - it's been controversial terminology from the start which has proven to be justified with time as we learn more about what it does.

Fascinating. It seems to be supporting a hypothesis I read a while ago (https://www.amazon.com/Next-Fifty-Years-Science-Twenty-first...) on pathogens being a possible cause for depression.

Fantastic article!!

It is good isn't it. I just re-read it ten years after the original publication.

I googled and Perron's start-up GeNeuro is still going, trying to fix MS with an antibody against HERV-W. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/geneuro-raises-eu17-5m...

super interesting.