Ancient Retrovirus Is Resurrected

You trying to get banned?

21 posted on 04/10/2007 3:13:39 PM PDT by ASA Vet (http://www.rinorepublic.com)

Just because one can do something does not mean one SHOULD do it.

Sheesh!

22 posted on 04/10/2007 3:17:25 PM PDT by LibKill ("RUDY GIULIANI" is just "HILLARY CLINTON" misspelled and wearing a dress.)

Why would he be banned? I have seen (and participated in) many threads arguing theology and science. He didn't say anything abusive.

Besides, he may be right.

23 posted on 04/10/2007 3:21:15 PM PDT by America_Right (Fred Thompson - The closest thing to Reagan we are likely to get!)

And the entire planet would be a desert, instead of just the ones we have now.

24 posted on 04/10/2007 3:24:28 PM PDT by firebrand

25 posted on 04/10/2007 3:40:47 PM PDT by Vicomte13 (Le chien aboie; la caravane passe.)

We are immune to all these old viruses and have incorporated them into our DNA code so really they are part of us and cannot infect us again.

Having copies of ancient viruses in our genome does nothing to confer immunity from them should they be 'resurrected'- the defunct copies are merely retroviruses that inserted copies of themselves into our DNA, but the copies mutated later and so can no longer be 'read'. In addition, the copies also have mutations that even if they were 'read', they would produce a broken virus. But these researchers produced a hybrid version of a group of these old copies that can be 'read', and as it turns out is free of errors that would render the virus nonfunctional. In other words, its a fully functional and infectious virus.

And having old copies of a retrovirus in our genome has no bearing on whether a resurrected version of it could infect us- most retroviruses insert copies of themselves for reproduction into our DNA at random locations, rendering any previous copies irrelevant. Even those that do show some specificity of insertion site show specificity only on the order of what region of a chromosome they insert into- even with an old copy or two in a targeted region there's still a surfeit of room for new, functional copies.

26 posted on 04/10/2007 4:55:03 PM PDT by verum ago (The Iranian Space Agency: set phasers to jihad!)

Calling the U.N. Calling the U.N
Ongoing biological weapons research - Germ warfare alert.

27 posted on 04/10/2007 5:09:17 PM PDT by MrBambaLaMamba (Buy 'Allah' brand urinal cakes - If you can't kill the enemy at least you can piss on their god)

To: LibWhacker; All

YEah, lets bring back old dead viruses that could kill all of humanity.

Smart.

I am sure they are taking precautions, but this is still rather freaky.

28 posted on 04/10/2007 5:12:38 PM PDT by rwfromkansas (http://xanga.com/rwfromkansas)

To: America_Right; narby

Not only is he right, but he’s also bright. No place for the around here.

29 posted on 04/10/2007 5:45:50 PM PDT by ASA Vet (http://www.rinorepublic.com)

No place for ~~the~~ that around here.

30 posted on 04/10/2007 5:54:50 PM PDT by ASA Vet (http://www.rinorepublic.com)

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