An ancient virus in chimpanzee DNA switches off a gene that is active in humans

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Researchers at Lund University report that an ancient viral sequence in chimpanzee DNA can switch off a gene that remains active in humans. They suggest that a virus-related pandemic millions of years ago may have contributed to differences in brain development between humans and chimpanzees.

Humans and chimpanzees share almost all their genes. Despite this, our brains have developed in different ways. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now shown that a viral pandemic dating back several million years is likely to be part of the explanation.