Leuven, Belgium - VIB researchers linked to K.U.Leuven and Harvard University show that stretches of DNA previously believed to be useless 'junk' DNA play a vital role in the evolution of our genome.

Ancient viruses left a legacy in your DNA. And it turns out, that legacy may be helping shape who you are. A recent international study has shown that certain bits of ancient viral DNA, long dismissed ...

The human genome is made up of 23 pairs of chromosomes, the biological blueprints that make humans … well, human. But it turns out that some of our DNA — about 8% — are the remnants of ancient viruses ...

We all have one: a junk drawer that we stuff full of all our random - and often useless - items that we can't throw away. However, once in a while, there's something in that drawer that ends up being ...

The human genome is chock full of what scientists once considered "junk DNA." This DNA is actually something called transposable elements, or TEs. These are repetitive sequences found in the genome ...

Around 45 percent of human DNA is made up of transposable elements, or TEs—genetic leftovers from now-extinct viruses that scientists once believed to be “junk DNA.” But that view is changing, and a ...

For decades, large stretches of human DNA were dismissed as "junk" and considered to serve no real purpose. In a new study published in Cell Genomics, researchers at Lund University in Sweden show ...

One person’s junk is another’s treasure. An international team of scientists have found that strings of “junk” DNA in the human genome that were previously written off as having no useful function are ...

Imagine the human genome as a string stretching out for the length of a football field, with all the genes that encode proteins clustered at the end near your feet. Take two big steps forward; all the ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Our DNA contains remnants of ancient viruses that embedded themselves into our genetic code. - TanyaJoy/iStockphoto/Getty Images ...