I'm sure some of the fixations did fail; there's now no evidence of the retroviral infection.
Please provide some details about exactly what your explanation is for the tree-like structure exhibited by the ERVs; I probably have a wrong idea about it.
T.O. provides references ot the scientific literature. That's where to start.
No, a failed fixation would be represented by partial appearance in the population, not total absence. You cannot distinguish a 'failed fixation' from a non-infection using criteria like that. It's no more than idle speculation.
And I know t.o. provides the references. I checked them. No evidence to support the claim, other than the assertion itself... and a nice little picture to post.
I expect to find that this 'exact same spot' claim doesn't mean what you think it does. It could actually be quite consistent with 'exact same gene', which would support my hypothesis since gene expression affects have been documented.
Just wondered if you knew. I figured not.
You gotta stop taking those t.o. assertions at face value. They're worthless without knowing the underlying data. You've absolutely got to look at the underlying data for interpretive bias.
That's why it is so important to separate evidence from 'interpretation'.