Where Did Human DNA Come From? | Taking A Closer Look At Genetic Evolution With Dr. John Coffin
Finding Genius Podcast
Richard Jacobs
4.4 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 11 March 2024
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
DNA is the blueprint of humans and almost every other organism on Earth. A highly complex strand of genetic material, virtually every single cell in a person's body has the same DNA. So this begs the question: What is DNA composed of, and where does it come from? Dr. John Coffin, an American Cancer Society Research Professor and Distinguished Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, joins us to explain…
Dr. Coffin is a veteran policy analyst who has helped advise the National Cancer Center's Center for Cancer Research director, among other prominent institutions. With a passion for understanding how retroviruses interact with their host cells and organisms, he is at the forefront of DNA research – a field that highlights the intricate mechanisms of evolution.
Dive in now to learn about:
- What endogenous retroviruses are, and how they interact with DNA material.
- How retroviruses replicate.
- The ways that mutations can disrupt the functioning of certain genes.
- What happens when retroviruses are removed from an organism's DNA.
How do viruses interact with human DNA? What can this tell us about the epigenetic landscape of our past? Click play to see for yourself!
You can find out more about Dr. Coffin and his work here.
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Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/30PvU9
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Forget frequently asked questions. |
| 0:02.2 | Common sense, common knowledge, or Google. |
| 0:04.8 | How about advice from a real genius? |
| 0:07.0 | 95% of people in any profession are good enough to be qualified and licensed. |
| 0:11.2 | 5% go above and beyond. They become very good at what they do. |
| 0:15.0 | But only 0.1% are real Jesus. |
| 0:18.2 | Richard Jacobs has made it his life's mission to find them for you. |
| 0:22.2 | He hunts down and interviews geniuses in every |
| 0:24.6 | field, sleep science, cancer, stem cells, ketogenic diets and more. Here come the geniuses. |
| 0:30.0 | This is the Finding Genius Podcast. |
| 0:33.0 | That is Richard Jacobs. |
| 0:35.0 | Hello, this is Richard Jacobs with the Finding Genius Podcast, |
| 0:41.0 | now part of the Finding Genius Foundation. |
| 0:43.2 | My guest is Professor John Coffin. |
| 0:45.7 | So he has a professor title with the American Cancer Society. |
| 0:50.0 | He's also a Tuft University. |
| 0:52.2 | So again, he's a research professor, |
| 0:53.5 | distinguished professor, deals with molecular biology |
| 0:56.4 | and microbiology. |
| 0:57.8 | We're going to talk about a very unusual topic |
| 0:59.8 | that I don't know if a lot of people know |
| 1:01.4 | that it appears that humans have about 8% of DNA that comprises us that appears to come from viruses that have become part of our DNA. |
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