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We lug around 100,000 retro virus sequences inside us; all told, genetic parasites related to viruses account for more than 40 percent of all human DNA. Our bod
by po 16y ago
We lug around 100,000 retro virus sequences inside us; all told, genetic parasites related to viruses account for more than 40 percent of all human DNA. Our body works hard to silence its viral stowaways by tying up those stretches of DNA in tight stacks of proteins, but sometimes they slip out. Now and then endogenous retroviruses switch on and start manufacturing proteins. They assemble themselves like Lego blocks into bulbous retroviral particles, which ooze from the cells producing them.
Sounds like technical debt. Anyone up for a refactoring code sprint?
- janzer 16y agohttp://www.salon.com/technology/feature/2002/08/28/0wnz0red/ http://www.salon.com/technology/feature/2002/08/28/0wnz0red/ By Cory Doctorow
- GFischer 16y agoThat is one long article/piece of fiction, but I'm enjoying it so far. I guess somewhere it gets to the point you're making :)
- elai 16y agoFrom my childhood experience of computing of deleting things I thought were useless and then finding out soon after I really borked my system, i'd be a bit more careful.
- eru 16y agoThat's why we use version control.
- moss 16y agoTempting, but the system's only covered by end-to-end tests that take years to run. I'm afraid to change it!