--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Parasites are not only incredibly…" description: "\"Parasites are not only incredibly diverse; they are also incredibly successful. There are parasitic stretches of DNA in your own genes, some of which a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/carl-zimmer-16331_copies_parasites-are-not-only-incredibly-divers_1963049.png" --- # Parasites are not only incredibly diverse; they are also… ![“Parasites are not only incredibly diverse; they are also incredibly successful. There are parasitic stretches of DNA in your own genes, some of which are called retrotransposons. Many of the parasitic stretches were originally viruses that entered our DNA. Most of them don't do us any harm. They…” quote by Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/carl-zimmer-16331_copies_parasites-are-not-only-incredibly-divers_1963049.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/carl-zimmer-16331_copies_parasites-are-not-only-incredibly-divers_1963049.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/carl-zimmer-16331_copies_parasites-are-not-only-incredibly-divers_1963049.png) > “Parasites are not only incredibly diverse; they are also incredibly successful. There are parasitic stretches of DNA in your own genes, some of which are called retrotransposons. Many of the parasitic stretches were originally viruses that entered our DNA. Most of them don't do us any harm. They just copy and insert themselves in other parts of our DNA, basically replicating themselves. Sometimes they hop into other species and replicate themselves in a new host. According to one estimate, roughly one-third to one-half of all human DNA is basically parasitic.” [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parasites, including viral DNA remnants, make up a large portion of our genome and persist by copying themselves. **In simple terms:** DNA contains many parasitic elements that replicate themselves. Key Takeaway Recognize the hidden viral heritage in our DNA. Themes biology genetics evolution Mood curious analytical Type scientific informative When to use this quote - genome research - medical genetics - evolutionary studies Key Concepts retrotransposons viral integration Questions to Reflect On - How do parasitic DNA elements affect human health? - What mechanisms keep them from harming us? A Different Perspective These elements can sometimes cause disease or genomic instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Retrotransposons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-retrotransposons-3251478/) [Copies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copies/) [Diverse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diverse/) [Dna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dna/) [Dna Basically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dna-basically-3251480/) [Genes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genes/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Hops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hops/) [Host](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/host/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Insert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insert/) [One half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-half/) [Parasites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parasites/) [Parasites Incredibly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parasites-incredibly-3251479/) [Parasitic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parasitic/) [Replicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replicate/) [Retrotransposons Parasitic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retrotransposons-parasitic-3251477/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Thirds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirds/) [Viruses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viruses/) ## Related quotes > [Borna virus is not a retrovirus. It doesn't actually insert its own genes into our cells. What it does is just hangs out near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/borna-virus-is-not-a-retrovirus-it-doesn-t-actually-insert-its-own/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“The second most common misconception about love is the idea that dependency is love...Its effect is seen most dramatically in an individual who makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/the-second-most-common-misconception-about-love-is-the-idea-that/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [“All the relationships I’ve witnessed have been parasitic. One person would bleed the other person of all their energy and love so that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-lost/all-the-relationships-i-ve-witnessed-have-been-parasitic-one-person/) [Loretta Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-lost/) > [Advertising ... is a parasitic activity; it forces goods for which there is no real need or demand on a foolish or even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-bridge/advertising-is-a-parasitic-activity-it-forces-goods-for-which-there/) [Ann Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-bridge/) > [Human beings are very parasitic in many ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-cassandra/human-beings-are-very-parasitic-in-many-ways/) [Regina Cassandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-cassandra/) > [I'm very parasitic, from my own experiences. I just go and mine my dirty laundry, you know, and go through it until I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-jean/i-m-very-parasitic-from-my-own-experiences-i-just-go-and-mine-my/) [Nikki Jean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-jean/) > [We kind of have an ingrained, parasitic society. We kind of think it's okay to eat your neighbor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pellegrino/we-kind-of-have-an-ingrained-parasitic-society-we-kind-of-think-it-s/) [Mark Pellegrino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pellegrino/) > [It is now an article of absolute faith among Republicans that 'the government' is an entity separate from 'the American people,' which they say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/it-is-now-an-article-of-absolute-faith-among-republicans-that-the/) [Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/) > [I wouldn't describe that "position" as "parasitic." I'd describe that experience as "edifying." I don't merely write from a critical intellectual distance. I actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-sterling/i-wouldn-t-describe-that-position-as-parasitic-i-d-describe-that/) [Bruce Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-sterling/) > [Every man has inside himself a parasitic being who is acting not at all to his advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/every-man-has-inside-himself-a-parasitic-being-who-is-acting-not-at/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I'm necessarily parasitic in a way. I have done well as a parasite. But I'm still a parasite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/i-m-necessarily-parasitic-in-a-way-i-have-done-well-as-a-parasite-but/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“The massive spread of corporate controlled humans across the face of the Earth would be regarded as a parasitic growth by nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-massive-spread-of-corporate-controlled-humans-across-the-face-of/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Small towns and local publications love to have a hero of some kind. For Portland, it's definitely Ian Karmel and Ron Funches, but every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-miller/small-towns-and-local-publications-love-to-have-a-hero-of-some-kind/) [Amy Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-miller/) > [My brothers and sisters and I spoke in a language called Egg Latin. In the early '50s in Canada, this became a fad way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hartman/my-brothers-and-sisters-and-i-spoke-in-a-language-called-egg-latin-in/) [Phil Hartman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hartman/) > [I'd rather fiddle with my phone for precious seconds than neglect an apostrophe; I'd rather insert a word laboriously keyed out than resort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-d-rather-fiddle-with-my-phone-for-precious-seconds-than-neglect-an/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## More by Carl Zimmer > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [If the world goes crazy for a lovely fossil, that's fine with me. But if that fossil releases some kind of mysterious brain ray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/if-the-world-goes-crazy-for-a-lovely-fossil-that-s-fine-with-me-but/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Today, when we look at a brain, we see an intricate network of billions of neurons in constant, crackling communication, a chemical labyrinth that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/today-when-we-look-at-a-brain-we-see-an-intricate-network-of-billions/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“The extra clutter adds no important insight; instead, it offers more clutter in which erros can lurk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/the-extra-clutter-adds-no-important-insight-instead-it-offers-more/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Evolution has led to some populations of people being able to digest milk without much trouble when they're adults as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/evolution-has-led-to-some-populations-of-people-being-able-to-digest/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Medicine allows people to live who would otherwise die, so antibiotics will let people survive infections that they might be otherwise very vulnerable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/medicine-allows-people-to-live-who-would-otherwise-die-so-antibiotics/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“Two hallmarks of Homo Sapiens are decoration and self-identification.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/two-hallmarks-of-homo-sapiens-are-decoration-and-self-identification/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Over millions of years the viruses in our genome mutate more and more so the look less and less and less recognizable as viruses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/over-millions-of-years-the-viruses-in-our-genome-mutate-more-and-more/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [ “\[Writing to Lucretius, on Epicurus' belief that the soul was no different from the rest of the cosmos; made of atoms\] "Death is therefore… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/writing-to-lucretius-on-epicurus-belief-that-the-soul-was-no/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [We may be sucking in all sorts of viruses and we really don't know the full range of them. Maybe we've got flu virus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/we-may-be-sucking-in-all-sorts-of-viruses-and-we-really-don-t-know/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“It may be hard to imagine a world before antibiotics, but now we must imagine a world where antibiotics are not the only weapon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/it-may-be-hard-to-imagine-a-world-before-antibiotics-but-now-we-must/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [We really depend on viruses for our complete survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/we-really-depend-on-viruses-for-our-complete-survival/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“Based on the number of viruses she found in her samples, Proctor estimated that every liter of seawater contained up to one hundred billion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/based-on-the-number-of-viruses-she-found-in-her-samples-proctor/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Researchers keep identifying new species, but they have no idea about the life cycle of a given species or its other hosts. They cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/researchers-keep-identifying-new-species-but-they-have-no-idea-about/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [One of the big challenges now is to figure out just how many viruses there really are in the human genome. So far the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/one-of-the-big-challenges-now-is-to-figure-out-just-how-many-viruses/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) [Explore all 40 Carl Zimmer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) ## More Copies quotes > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My songs are like cheap Neil Young copies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-bachman/my-songs-are-like-cheap-neil-young-copies/) [Randy Bachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-bachman/) > [In that part of the book of my memory before the which is little that can be read, there is a rubric, saying, Incipit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/in-that-part-of-the-book-of-my-memory-before-the-which-is-little-that/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I remember being a kid and seeing the 'National Inquirer' at the grocery store checkout line. When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [The idea is not to copy nature, but to give a feeling of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-oudolf/the-idea-is-not-to-copy-nature-but-to-give-a-feeling-of-nature/) [Piet Oudolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-oudolf/) > [“When copies are free, you need to sell things that cannot be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? Trust, for instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/when-copies-are-free-you-need-to-sell-things-that-cannot-be-copied/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Mr Witwould: "Pray, madam, do you pin up your hair with all your letters? I find I must keep copies." Mrs Millamant: "Only with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/mr-witwould-pray-madam-do-you-pin-up-your-hair-with-all-your-letters/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [There have to be at least two copies of a photograph, otherwise it’s not a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ruff/there-have-to-be-at-least-two-copies-of-a-photograph-otherwise-it-s/) [Thomas Ruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ruff/) > [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. You can't have any big failures. I've always felt regular. I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) > [It was only after I had been out of the art school that I actually copied a small Seurat, and I copied it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/it-was-only-after-i-had-been-out-of-the-art-school-that-i-actually/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [We call ourselves creators and we just copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/we-call-ourselves-creators-and-we-just-copy/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [People have one of two extreme reactions to my book. They either throw it across the room, or they rush out and buy 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/people-have-one-of-two-extreme-reactions-to-my-book-they-either-throw/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [A presentation copy...is a copy of a book whoch does not sell, sent you by the author, with his foolish autograph at the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/a-presentation-copy-is-a-copy-of-a-book-whoch-does-not-sell-sent-you/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [We are all born originals, why is it so many of us die copies?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/we-are-all-born-originals-why-is-it-so-many-of-us-die-copies/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) [Browse all 971 Copies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Parasites are not only incredibly diverse; they are also incredibly successful. There are parasitic stretches of DNA in your own genes, some of which are called retrotransposons. Many of the parasitic stretches were originally viruses that entered our DNA. Most of them don't do us any harm. They just copy and insert themselves in other parts of our DNA, basically replicating themselves. Sometimes they hop into other species and replicate themselves in a new host. 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