Are humans descended from viruses? “If Charles Darwin reappeared today, he might be surprised to learn that humans are descended from viruses as well as from apes. Some 8% of human DNA represents fossil retroviral genomes…” 2006

“Reverse Transcriptase” What is a retrovirus? “Reverse Transcriptase”

Endogenous RetroVirus (ERV) Sperm Egg

ERV ERV

The Discovery of ERVs 1963: Hypothesis: RNA virus inserts DNA copy into host. 1961: Some RNA viruses affect the DNA of their hosts. 1989: Human ERVs identified in other primates. 1957: Central dogma: DNA → RNA → Protein 1968: DNA insertion hypothesis confirmed. 1970: Discovery of reverse transcriptase. 1974: Retroviruses are finally named. 1961 Some RNA viruses affect the DNA of their hosts. 1963 Hypothesis: RNA virus inserts DNA copy into host. 1957 Central dogma: DNA → RNA → Protein 1968 DNA insertion hypothesis confirmed. 1970 Discovery of reverse transcriptase. 1989 Human ERVs identified in other primates. 1974 Retroviruses are finally named. DNA RNA Protein

Evolution is Testable Endogenous Retroviruses and Common Ancestry Prediction: If evolution by common descent is a correct description of the origin of human beings, then we should share ample evidence of shared ERV sequences with our closest relative, the chimpanzee. Humans Chimps

A Coincidence? Would require the same retrovirus to insert in exactly the same chromosomal location. ERVs insert their DNA at “integration sites.” Each integration site is 100,000 - 250,000 base pairs in length. Each ERV has 500 - 2000 integration sites. Therefore, there at least 50,000,000 possible locations where an ERV can randomly insert itself. Highly improbable that humans and chimps would have the same ERV sequence at the same location.

Humans Chimpanzees

1 ,3 ,4 ,5 ,2 ERV5 ERV4 ERV2 ERV3 ERV1 Human A Human B Chimpanzee Mouse Rat ERV5 ERV4 ERV2 ERV3 ERV1

Evolution is Testable Endogenous Retroviruses and Common Ancestry Patterns of ERV insertions observed in modern species exactly match predictions. We do not find ERVs in the same position in two distantly related species without also finding it in the intervening species. ERV evidence clearly demonstrates that modern organisms share common ancestry, confirming the predictions made by the theory of evolution. Evolution is REAL science.

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An ERV in Gorillas and Chimps, but not in Humans? Bonobos Chimpanzees Gorillas ERV Ancestral sequence ERV sequence