For those who will not click

I post to a number of Facebook groups where evolution comes up. Having studied and discussed evolution over many years, I came across the evidence for common ancestry from commonly inherited endogenous retroviruses - signatures in our DNA written by retroviruses that put common ancestry beyond all reasonable doubt, so I created an FAQ about them. One problem, and it is a very telling one, is that science skeptics will often refuse to go to the FAQ. Therefore, I am presenting a summary, below, that does not require you to click. If, after reading this you have questions, or you decide you do want to know more, go to the top page of the FAQ @ https://barryhisblog.blogspot.com/p/endogenous-retroviruses-frequently.html

1. Retroviruses replicate by invading the cells of host organisms, converting their RNA genomes into DNA, and inserting (integrating, in the jargon) the DNA into the DNA of the host cell. The integrated DNA is called a "provirus". The host cell then "reads" the provirus, converting it back into RNA, resulting in the production of more viruses.

2. Retroviruses tend to target certain types of cells. Their "envelope" proteins tend to be specialized to attach to the surfaces of these cells.

3. The integration into the host's DNA is made by a retroviral enzyme called integrase. While certain retroviruses can show a general tendency to integrate their DNA in certain types of regions in a host cell's DNA, they do not target specific points (loci). This means that in an infected individual, not all cells will be infected, and in those that are, the retroviral integration will be in a different locus or loci in the DNA of each cell.

4. We find, in the genomes of creatures such as ourselves and chimpanzees, inherited structures that cannot be anything but the remnants of retroviral integrations. Some are more complete than others, but many have the full set of genes that would be necessary for a complete retrovirus, were they not faulty. We call these structures endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). Unlike the case where each cell is individually infected, they appear in the exact same loci in the DNA of every single nuclear cell (cells with nuclei containing DNA).

5. Although certain components of some ERVs perform functions in the host, some even being essential in some species, no complete ERVs are functional. Design, as an explanation for ERVs, does not make any sense. A designer would have no need to include specifically retroviral genes in its designs, which now do nothing, or may even cause harm. There would also be no need to design in non-functional traces of the action of integrase, traces of which are present in ERVs.

6. The only explanation that makes any sense is that ERVs are the result of retroviral integrations with germ-line DNA - the DNA of egg cells or sperm cells, followed by reproduction and consequent cell division. Cell division will duplicate the ERVs in the same loci in the DNA of every cell. Separate, parallel infection would not infect every cell, and the proviruses would end up in different loci, comparing one infected cell with another.

7. All human beings have some 200,000+ ERV and ERV fragments in the DNA of every one of their cells. Most of them are in identical DNA loci going from cell to cell, and person to person. This means that we all share common ancestors - the ancestors that first acquired each of the germ-line retroviral integrations.

8. All human beings and chimpanzees have some 200,000+ ERV and ERV fragments in the DNA of every one of their cells. Most of them are in precisely corresponding DNA loci going from cell to cell, and individual to individual. This means that we all share common ancestors - the ancestors that first acquired each of the germ-line retroviral infections.