"New research from King’s College London has discovered that ancient viral DNA sequences, known as Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs), are expressed in the brain and contribute to psychiatric disorder susceptibility. The study revealed that specific HERVs are associated with increased risks of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. " (ScitechDaily, Study: Remnants of Ancient Viruses in Human DNA Related to Schizophrenia and Depression)
"The research analyzed extensive genetic data and autopsy brain samples to uncover these associations. The findings suggest that understanding the role of these viral sequences in brain function could revolutionize mental health research and lead to new treatment and diagnostic methods. Credit: SciTechDaily.com" (ScitechDaily, Study: Remnants of Ancient Viruses in Human DNA Related to Schizophrenia and Depression)
New viruses can be a threat.
But they can also be an opportunity to make new gene therapies.
Researchers detected previously unknown, large-size viruses in the ice. And that is an interesting thing. The large size means that those viruses have complex genetic structures. And this kind of thing could make those viruses potentially dangerous. When a virus travels in the human body, enzymes cut the DNA. And complex DNA structures can hide DNA from many viruses. It is possible, that some dangerous viruses will activate in the human body when the DNA bonds are cut at certain points.
The mystery of those large-size viruses is, where they come from. The virus requires always living cells, where it can multiply itself. And maybe those large-size viruses are from some algae or amoeba.
Another alarming thing is that the previously unknown mRNA virus is found in the human nervous system. That kind of virus is always dangerous because if something happens in the immune system, the virus can activate. The mRNA virus can transport genomes from one species to another. The virus remnants can cause many nervous diseases, like Schizophrenia and Depression.
The virus remnant can infect cells in the human body. And there is needed only a small DNA bite, that can transport the genome from food to human cells. Or actually, all DNA and mRNA bites include some chemical code. And all codes control the function of the cells. When we think about small DNA bites it's possible, that our immune system cannot detect them. In everyday life, the mRNA and other virus remnants modify our genetic code.
Those virus remnants are things that can also cause Alzheimer's. On this point, I must say that there may be many things like virus infections, and chemical stress like huffing can cause Alzheimer's. The common detail in Alzheimer's is that some bacteria can travel between neurons, and make plague that denies the neurotransmitters travel through the synapsis hole between neurons.
When humans face new viruses, we are at the front of the unknown. Some viruses cause destructive infections. And some viruses will not cause symptoms at all.
Viruses are tools for gene editing and gene therapy. The artificial genomes that are packed in the viruses can replace damaged genomes. The new tool for making gene-edited viruses is multiplexed orthogonal base editors (MOBE). Those systems allow to creation of multiple genetic mutations at the same time. This kind of thing is an excellent tool for handling long DNA.
In virus-based gene therapy, the system creates the master DNA and puts it into the protein package. Or the system can inject those viruses into the wanted cells. Then those cells start to produce new viruses. After that, researchers can collect those viruses. And inject them into patients. The virus must destroy previous DNA from the cell's nucleus. That denies doubling the genomes. Another thing is that the process where the system removes previous DNA removes the damaged genome effect. The key element in successful gene therapy is to remove damaged DNA from the cell.
https://scitechdaily.com/decoding-disease-uc-san-diegos-leap-in-gene-editing/
https://scitechdaily.com/emerging-threat-new-rna-virus-found-in-human-neurons/
https://scitechdaily.com/protectors-of-the-ice-strange-giant-viruses-discovered-on-greenland-ice-sheet/
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