Contrary to what you may have heard, your genome is not a highly sophisticated, finely tuned data storage and processing device. It’s a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Your 25,000 genes reside in a genetic landscape littered with the rubble of ancient and ongoing battles with hordes of viruses, clone armies of genetic parasites, and zombie genes that should be dead but aren’t. Our messy genomic landscape is a dynamic, miniature ecosystem, and scientists are learning how its inhabitants play a big role in human health and disease.
Most large genomes carry an exotic bestiary of genetic hangers-on that exploit both the host genome and each other to do what all life does: survive and reproduce.
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Read the full, original story here: Your Genome Is a Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland
