3 ms·
Hmmm, well, per Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERVWE1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERVWE1), it's a virus you might say we grabbed and re-purposed. I
by hga 12y ago
Hmmm, well, per Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERVWE1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERVWE1), it's a virus you might say we grabbed and re-purposed. In mice, there's "evidence for their absolute requirement for placenta development and embryo survival." And a couple of other genes of the original virus have been zapped. Call it a hack.
And I can't see anyone being that surprised that "Mutations in the HERV-W gene have been associated with multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia." If you mess with essential stuff, bad things can certainly happen. Although it could easily be somewhat more complicated, "correlation does not imply causation".
I guess I'm trying to say that where we got the genetic material from is more in the direction of a curiosity than something profound.
- frozenport 12y ago>>And I can't see anyone being that surprised that "Mutations in the HERV-W gene have been associated with multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia." If you mess with essential stuff, bad things can certainly happen. This is a poor line of reasoning in biology where almost everything could be considered essential. As we understanding, the real question is if this can be used to find a mechanism or if elevated W type proteins can be used as an early detection scheme.