Restless Souls/Technology: Difference between revisions

: So a virus makes the host its ''own body''; but there also exist symbiotic viruses. These have not taken over a host cell, but sorta vice versa: they became fully incorporated into the host's genome. Two examples: First, the [[wp:Polydnavirus|polydnavirus]] inside of ichneumonid (parasitic) wasps is only produced when the wasps lay eggs in a caterpillar. The virus helps the wasp eggs to survive inside the caterpillar by affecting the immune system and changing the metabolism to the advantage of the wasp eggs. The second example concerns us humans (and all animals with a placenta). The retrovirus [[wp:Syncytin-1|ERVWE1]] in our genome merges placenta cells through its produced protein "syncytin" in order to create a protective layer. That way, the embryo stays untouched by the mother's immune system. Otherwise it could be recognized as a foreign body because of the father's genes. The retrovirus gives us an advantage compared to non-placental mammals.