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Ancient Viruses Altered Human Brains
giulioprisco writes: A new study from Lund University in Sweden (abstract) indicates inherited viruses that are millions of years old play an important role in building up the complex networks that characterize the human brain. The Lund study shows that retroviruses seem to play a central role in the basic functions of the brain — over the course of evolution, the viruses took an increasingly firm hold on the steering wheel in our cellular machinery. In particular, the retroviruses seem to play an important role in the regulation of which genes are to be expressed, and when."
The article lies. It says, "[t]he reason the viruses are activated specifically in the brain is probably due to the fact that tumours cannot form in nerve cells, unlike in other tissues."
Leaving aside the awkward phrasing ("form _in_ nerve cells" [emphasis added]), it turns out that 1% of brain tumors are neuronal tumors. "Tumors of the central nervous system that contain abnormal neuronal elements, termed neuronal tumors, make up approximately 1% of all brain tumors." (http://pubs.rsna.org/doi/pdf/10.1148/radiographics.22.5.g02se051177)
That said, I think I understand the gist of the argument. But I didn't know that neuronal tumors were so rare (or supposedly impossible, according to TFA) and felt compelled to fact check that assertion.
I think it may refer to the fact that neural derived tumors typically form from the neural support cells (glial cells, astrocytes) rather than the axons and dentrite of a 'nerve cell'. Lousy phrasing and really a stretch as far as significance.
Which segues into nicely hyperbolic title in TFA. What the research shows is that retroviral-derived sequences have some interesting control factors that are different from other cells. To intimate that this has anything to do with intelligence or even brain function is rather a stretch. It's a shame because the findings (a novel control pathway in the brain) is interesting all by itself.
Sigh.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
From the article: "tumours cannot form in nerve cells". This, of course, is BS that was discredited a couple of years ago: http://m.medicalxpress.com/new... Perhaps we should have a Slashdot discussion on lazy scientists failing to keep up with developments in their own field. If you write without bothering to read, you end up with... well, something like Slashdot...
"Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
Unfortunately for your randomly invented theory, homo sapiens developed their brains in warm parts of Africa.
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