Based in Brazil, Fernanda Ferreira is a science writer who covers a range of STEM (and occasionally non-STEM) topics, from textile conservation to vaccine stockpiles.
8% of the human genome is derived from viruses and these endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) represent ancient viral infections that became integrated into the human genome. Scientists had previously known the importance of a specific ERV in the development of the placenta, but now they have discovered a subset of ERVs that help regulate our immune system.
