How old is the AIDS virus? Scientists say half
a billion years!
New Delhi: Scientists have claimed that AIDS virus is half a
billion years old.
As per the research, retroviruses have ancient marine
origins, having been with their animal hosts through the evolutionary
transition from sea to land.
Until now, it was thought that retroviruses were
relative newcomers -- possibly as recent as 100 million years in age.
"Our research shows that retroviruses are at
least 450 million years old, if not older, and that they must have originated
together with, if not before, their vertebrate hosts in the early Paleozoic
era," explained Dr Aris Katzourakis from Oxford University's department of
zoology.
Furthermore, they would have been present in our
vertebrate ancestors prior to the colonisation of land and have accompanied
their hosts throughout this transition from sea to land, all the way up until
the present day.
Source: www.zeenews.india.com
11.01.2017
Learning without thought is labor lost; thought
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