You may be infected right now and not know it. Infectious viruses from these surprising sources slip in and cut open your DNA like scissors to insert their own genetic material, which replicates and spreads throughout your body. Transmittable to your offspring, they may be behind autism, HIV, chronic fatigue and more. Download Interview Transcript | Download my FREE Podcast
STORY AT-A-GLANCE A retrovirus is a virus that contains RNA encoded genes rather than DNA. Using reverse transcriptase, the retrovirus is able to transform the single-stranded RNA into a double-stranded DNA
When the retrovirus infects a host, it integrates its DNA into the DNA of the host cell, which allows the retrovirus to replicate itself and spread through the host
One example of a transmissible retrovirus is the HIV virus, which can cascade into the clinical symptoms of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
A retrovirus family known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related viruses (XMRV) may play a causal role in chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic myalgic encephalopathy (ME) and other diseases, including autism
Some retroviruses, including XMRV (but not HIV as far as we know), infect your germ cells, which means they are transmitted to your offspring Judy Mikovits, Ph.D., a virologist, researcher and founding research director of the Whittemore Peterson Institute — which researches and treats chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in Reno, Nevada — got embroiled in controversy when, in 2009, she was the senior author on a paper which reported that a retrovirus known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) may play a causal role in CFS and other diseases, including autism….