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Human BodySurprise 5/5Difficulty 3/5Reviewed on September 18, 2026

About half of human DNA comes from ancient viruses that infected our ancestors.

Why it is true

Human endogenous retroviruses are remnants of viral infections that occurred millions of years ago and became integrated into the genome. Most are inactive, but some of these viral fragments are essential for functions such as placenta development.

Source: Nature

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