Ancient viruses hidden in human DNA can help fight cancer, finds study #shorts #short #reels

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Ancient viruses hidden in human DNA can help fight cancer, finds study

Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute have discovered that dormant ancient viruses hiding inside human DNA help the body fight cancer by aiding the immune system to target and attack the tumour. B-cells, part of the body's immune system that manufactures antibodies, cluster around tumours, recognising remnants of endogenous retroviruses, which are viral genetic material that slipped into our genetic code millions of years ago.

Chaos dominates inside a cancerous cell when it is growing uncontrollably and the once tight control of these ancient viruses is lost, but they can create fragments of viruses that are enough for the immune system to spot a viral threat. The researchers hope to harness this discovery to develop vaccines that can boost cancer treatment or even prevent it.

More than 8% of what we think of as "human" DNA actually has viral origins, some of which became a fixture of our genetic code tens of millions of years ago and are shared with our evolutionary relatives, the great apes. The study came out of the TracerX study, which has been tracking lung cancers in unprecedented detail and this week showed cancer's "near infinite" ability to evolve.

Do you think the discovery of ancient viruses hiding inside human DNA will revolutionise cancer treatment?