The Pandemic That Lasted 15 Million Years

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Our DNA holds evidence of a huge, ancient pandemic, one that touched many different species, spanned the globe, and lasted for more than 15 million years.

The paper we discuss throughout the episode:
Diehl, W., Patel, N., Halm, K. and Johnson, W., 2016. Tracking interspecies transmission and long-term evolution of an ancient retrovirus using the genomes of modern mammals. eLife, 5.

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[Haedox]

“imagine a pandemic that lasted 15 million years”

please, no, I don’t want to

[sharjeelazeem]

Scientists explaining how a virus could last for 15 Million years

Coronavirus: write that down!! Write that down!!!!

[mytoemytoe]

Around 2:50 really stunned me, 8% of the human genome consisting of retroviral history. The ingenuity and adaptability of life at the molecular level never fails to amaze.

[GrayCatbird]

This is truly amazing. DNA is like an extremely ancient book filled with random scribbles and arcane tales.

[imfrommanndame]

That jacket makes you at least 50% jeans!

[radianzero]

"A pandemic that lasted 15 million years."

I thought this was *PBS Eons* not *PBS Today*

[hjucmur]

The timing of this vdo release was terrifying. Imagine watching it in the middle of covid pandemic when no one knew when it would stop. 😮

[GeorgeZacharopoulos]

I love watching comments made during the lockdown.

[LevanEvan]

"15 million year pandemic"
Guess I'll go and renew that netflix subscription

[amaradejo]

MY OPTIMISTIC BEST FRIEND: "This pandemic will last until July, tops!"
EONS: "Did you know there was a pandemic that lasted for 15 million years??" XD

[Octobris]

The fact people of today are able to make discoveries like this one is absolutely mindblowing

[leroyjenkins]

Thank you PBS, This is all i needed to lift my spirits up.
Sincerely,
Indian Guy

[couchpotatoe]

Everyone: "This pandemic sucks, hopefully it'll be gone by the end of the year."
PBS Eons: "Did you know that there once was this pandemic that lasted 15 million years? Isn't that fascinating?"
THIS IS NOT A GOOD TIME, PBS EONS!!

[nonsicuro]

everybody gangsta untill the viruses do the fusion dance

[josephjackson]

I like when a scientist says “I don’t know”. It shows that they are willing to admit they don’t know everything.

[koffmann]

I swear that If Corona lasts 15 million years I'm reporting God to his supervisor.

[higgins]

Imagine 15 million years of Tiger King, online learning and toilet paper shortages

[brennanklimchock]

Don’t jinx us like this, please. We can’t take it anymore

[martensamulowitz]

Every second of this video is absolutely high quality!

[PhoenixMF]

I know that the common link between the pangolin and the bat was. It was Randy Marsh.