[gusopol3]

Thanks, very interesting. I remember an article posted several years back of researchers seeking to show junk DNA as detritus of remote encounters with viral pathogens and trying to construct an evolutionary history and theory from that.

[exDemMom]

Thanks, very interesting. I remember an article posted several years back of researchers seeking to show junk DNA as detritus of remote encounters with viral pathogens and trying to construct an evolutionary history and theory from that.

We have quite a bit of viral DNA embedded in our chromosomes, and apparently, much of our evolutionary history is contained within those viruses:

"Astonishingly, only 1.5% of the genetic material in our cells codes for human life. Half of the rest is sometimes described as "junk DNA" with no known function, and the other half consist of genes introduced by viruses and other parasites."

It may be incorrect to call those viruses "pathogens" when they make up such a large proportion of our genetic material.