According to the theory of biological evolution "The diversity of life forms that exist on Earth evolved from a common ancestor." It was Darwin in 1859 he converted the idea of biological evolution into a scientific theory by basing it on his observations and conceiving "natural selection" as a mechanism of change. However, science has asked "how" the human conscience was set in motion and we acquired the ability to reason and it seems that researchers have made an interesting discovery: Could a virus start up consciousness and make us human?
Make us human: Could it be for a virus?
Recent studies published in the journal Science Cell suggest that the gene that is thought to be responsible for the thought in humans it could have been created as result of a viral infection at the beginning of humanity. This virus could be at the base of human consciousness and have given us the capacity of reasoning. The information contained in the cells of the virus passed to our genes and through more than 400 million years of evolution became the gene known as Arc; vital in human thought.
The virus , unlike bacteria, they make changes in an active way in the cellular system by injecting their own genetic code in the cells of the body. This process often has no consequence, other times it causes damage and sometimes causes useful modifications. What scientists are studying is whether a virus could bind its genetic code to that of quadruped animals and still remain actively in our brain. That snippet of virus code would still be alive and "packaging" the aforementioned information and sending it to our neurons in those capsules that look like themselves a virus.
Strengthens his study the belief that between 40% and 90% of the human genome had its development thanks to old viruses and thanks to them our bodies have changed many times since ancient times. Dr. Pastuzyn, one of the authors of the study , said that possibly an ancient virus gave rise to human thought through the Arc gene, since the virus was "reused during evolution, to mediate intercellular communication in the nervous system".
The author of another of the studies, James Ashley , has based his research on the fact that " The Arc neuronal gene is essential for the storage of lasting information in the brain of mammals, mediates various forms of synaptic plasticity and has been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. " Mutations in that gene are related to disorders such as schizophrenia or autism which leads him to conclude that Arc has a basic role in the way we see and react to the world.
What do you think of the study? Do you think that a virus Can it be at the origin of our ability to think and become human?