Finding Ancient Viruses

How do you study an extinct virus? They don't leave fossils behind! But some of them have left their DNA in other living things, including humans.
Over the expanse of evolutionary time, the genomes of virtually every animal species have become riddled with these proviral sequences, the so-called endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). Most ERV sequences have been degraded by the accumulation of mutations but are still recognizable as retroviral in origin. The human genome alone contains hundreds of thousands of HERVs (Human ERVs), outnumbering our genes. Extrapolate these numbers across the entirety of the animal kingdom, and collectively ERV loci may well comprise a “fossil” collection numbering in the hundreds of millions of specimens.

Find out more about paleovirology, the study of extinct viruses, at Small Things Considered. Link -via Boing Boing

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Wow! No comments yet.

On one hand, the subject is fascinating. On the other hand, I majored in Biochemistry and had a tough time getting through the article.
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This looks like a receiver of an externally powered gun (aka autocannon/chain gun/grenade launcher (but not a flare gun))...
Guessing it is for a rimmed cartridge, but i couldn’t determine the cartridge size or the caliber..
i wonder if it uses a moving barrel or a moving chamber...
I am really looking forward to see the whole gun, or the fact that i misinterpreted all the components of this technical device...

Battle Damage
size M black
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Rats - yeah pretty sure hubble got it right, it's a fishing rod reel.

Wrong guess: It's a ghostbusters device to send the unspeakable ones (i.e. Michael Bolton) to R'lyeh.
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Oh it is a gun all right... a PAINT gun. Shoots a whole can of paint each time you pull the trigger. Looks like it comes pre-loaded with a can of gray. So you too can say, "Okay honey! I'll paint that thing TODAY!"

This is not a drill (XXL)
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Great White Shark Fishing reel. The only thing missing from this Gears of War esque set up is the 20' titanium rod and the body builder to cast it.

Large myth busters busted.
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I had hoped to never see one of these again. My ex-wife had one. It's a, ahem, "marital aid". Needless to say, it didn't aid my marriage (she's happy with it, though). I won't go into more details. It's too painful.

I Heart Maths (UK) 3XL
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It's a multi-purpose device for skin-head, Nazi, white supremist families: a combination rifle ammo chamber - fishing reel - fancy pie-crust roller.

XL Twaggies logo
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