Virus Stole a Human Gene and Won't Let Go of It

(nytimes.com)

54 points | by gumby 1 day ago

6 comments

  • pazimzadeh 3 hours ago
    Seems par for the course since our adaptive immune system is based on an old viral/transposon recombinase.

    Transposon Molecular Domestication and the Evolution of the RAG Recombinase

    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6494689/

    Here is the actual study:

    Escape of the BC200 gene to a human poxvirus reveals its persistent transposition in primates

    https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aeh3441

  • initramfs 3 hours ago
    This brings a whole new meaning to sores. Has this infection been previously identified? Edit: Yes https://www.cdc.gov/molluscum-contagiosum/about/index.html

    I guess it just hadn't been linked to human genes before.

  • readthenotes1 3 hours ago
    This must be microbe awareness day.

    Earlier iirc someone posted

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/cancer-infections-9.7361622

  • Daklone 1 hour ago
    Ah yes, the NYT paywall.

    Here you go everyone: https://archive.ph/PpKtR

  • chedieck 2 hours ago
    Can't read through the paywall
  • odmcownckexnn 45 minutes ago
    Can we please start banning articles with paywalls from being posted at all?

    If I cannot read without a subscription (or a damn paywall removed), it shouldn’t be posted here. This is tantamount to posting an ad for an NYT sub.

    • creatonez 33 minutes ago
      The HN rules are that paywalled content can be posted only if it's trivially bypassable via a free tool. The NYTimes links work on fresh IP addresses as part of a free allowance for new readers, which is why the proxy-based archive website archive.today is able to get through. I'm not a big fan of this being allowed, but there is some thought to it at least, they aren't just allowing anything.
      • ectospheno 31 minutes ago
        It is a shame that the free tool of choice is a site that put a DDOS attack in its captcha. So my options are not read the article or... not read the article. Nice.
        • gpm 18 minutes ago
          You say that like "commit a felony to read the article" isn't a valid option (/s).
      • ojihgfhoniyfc 28 minutes ago
        That’d be sensible reasoning IF the articles were already posted with a paywall-free url, but they are not, so as it stands these are essentially just ads.
        • creatonez 21 minutes ago
          IIRC the staff will usually intentionally elevate bypass links to the top whenever they see them posted in the comments. (And when a link has already been posted they tend to sink comments like yours that complain without providing a link, lol)