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Title: Your Genes: More Virus than Human
Added: Jun 20, 2011
Author: ForaTv
Duration: 4:8
Description:
Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2011/06/07/Carl_Zimmer_A_Planet_of_VirusesScience journalist Carl Zimmer explains how viral infections throughout history have affected the human genome. Viruses make up "about 8 or 9 percent" of our genome says Zimmer. Startlingly, human childbirth would not be possible without a viral mutation.-----The frontier of biology these days is the genetics and ecology of bacteria, and the frontier of THAT is what's being learned about viruses. "The science of virology is still in its early, wild days," writes Carl Zimmer. "Scientists are discovering viruses faster than they can make sense of them."The Earth's atmosphere is determined in large part by ocean bacteria; every day viruses kill half of them. Every year in the oceans, viruses transfer a trillion trillion genes between host organisms. They evolve faster than anything else, and they are a major engine of the evolution of the rest of life. Our own bodies are made up of 10 trillion human cells, 100 trillion bacteria, and 4 trillion very busy viruses. Some of them kill us. Many of them help us. Some of them are us. Viral time is ancient and blindingly fast. - The Long Now FoundationCarl Zimmer is the author of several popular science books and writes frequently for the New York Times, as well as for magazines including The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Science, Newsweek, Popular Science, and Discover, where he is a contributing editor. Carl's books include Soul Made Flesh, Parasite Rex and Evolution: The Triumph of An Idea. His latest book is A Planet of Viruses.
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Channel: News
Tags: virus human viral dna genes genome genetic material humans mutation mutations cancer humanity evolution evolved pregnancy childbirth biology carl zimmer long now foundation foratv fora.tv fora tv
virus human viral dna genes genome genetic material humans mutation mutations cancer humanity evolution evolved pregnancy childbirth biology carl zimmer long now foundation foratv fora.tv fora tv
Youtube Comments: 86
GowanBray Says:
Jun 21, 2011 - Well done ! Have you seen the videos of potholer54 ? He is an excellent science journalist who makes a variety of accurate and often humourous videos.
PRIVATEAYEIEYE Says:
Jun 21, 2011 - Thanks for the heads-up! Today's genetics update: "Chinese make cow that gives human milk!"Honest. Look it up.
migkillertwo Says:
Jun 21, 2011 - This is what Daniel Dennett once called a "Deepity"
kshackleton Says:
Jun 21, 2011 - talkorigins-dot-org
derman077 Says:
Jun 21, 2011 - They do make effective male contraceptive that makes sperm infertile. It is in your drinking water.
ReasonNLogic Says:
Jun 21, 2011 - So viral infection is another driving force of evolution? Interesting. SCIENCE ROCKS!!!
Crissix100 Says:
Jun 22, 2011 - Interesting, thanks for replying. I'm still confused as to what exactly the genome is though. Is it the same as our DNA?
GowanBray Says:
Jun 22, 2011 - Hi yes it's the dna in the nucleus of body cells. There is more dna in our mitchondria which is bacterial in origin and is inherited only via the female line. So the human genome is all the genes in humans. Note that most of the genetic information in our genome is non coding (as far as we know at the moment), and this would also include some of the virus dna he is talking about. But also includes genes for making non used anatomy like tails and gills. The proteome is all the proteins.
esraretin Says:
Jun 22, 2011 - lol yes
neurel111 Says:
Jun 22, 2011 - I think the meaning was that viruses can carry along genetic material that may happen to be advantageous, hence natural selection by other means than mutation.
SomethingSea1 Says:
Jun 22, 2011 - Good point. Thank you. I missed/forgot about that.
MisterDoctorE Says:
Jun 22, 2011 - Praise the virus overlords
cmiller1187 Says:
Jun 22, 2011 - @itzmarko4 strike two, except i cant laugh this time. you want that to be true because then your logic has substance, but it doesn't and i'm not either of the two guys you've described. you're starting to say the same craziness my friend rocky was saying before he plastered our apartment with his cerebral cortex. dude, you need some perspective, badly.
ACMan5000 Says:
Jun 22, 2011 - spawn more overlords
InnerSmile72 Says:
Jun 23, 2011 - selfish gene plus m-theory pretty much explains the universe
MultiUniv3rsal Says:
Jun 24, 2011 - So the question I have is are there any examples of extinction through maladaptation of these viruses?
Kaeralho Says:
Jun 25, 2011 - viruses were probably a stronger factor of mutation throughout the history of life than cosmic rays
enkindler Says:
Jul 12, 2011 - @MultiUniv3rsal,There is a very unfortunate example that is happening right now. Tasmanian devils are under an extreme risk of extinction due to a cancer that is spread by biting each others face.
c0y0tito Says:
Jul 18, 2011 - I LOVE SCIENCE!
0Headstrong Says:
Nov 2, 2011 - How can you be more virus than you are human if humans are the only species called humans?
gadionson1 Says:
Dec 16, 2011 - excellent video
gadionson1 Says:
Dec 16, 2011 - i love it too ..:)
raynelehrer Says:
May 6, 2012 - My bodies full of viruses. Yay for me!!!
GowanBray Says:
Jun 21, 2011 - We have the ability to splice into baterial DNA useful human genes (such as insulin) and get them to make it as a byproduct of their own reproduction. What the "enter the genome" means is that it can (and has) gone from virus to human as well. They have inserted their own DNA code into our genome. This is not new information, and is easily understandable when you think that all life is coded by the same molecule, made up of the same bases. Consider the origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts.